CHAPTER 62: A FAMILIAR FACE

Emma had already asked the same question six times.

"Do you think they’re done now?" she said again, her voice small but restless.

Evelyn let out a breath through her nose and answered in the same tone as before."We don’t know, Emma. Just wait, okay?"

That seemed to quiet her, but only for a moment. Evelyn glanced sideways, wondering if the silence would last or if Emma would press again. It had been like this for five minutes straight.

Lucy didn’t comment. She sat with her arms crossed, staring at the ground, caught up in her own storm of thoughts. Elunara was equally silent, composed, but her attention never left the faint disturbances in the shadows around them.

That patience paid off.

A fluctuation rippled across the stone floor like black water, and Elunara’s head snapped toward it instantly. The others took a second longer, but when the shadows surged again, they all caught it.

The darkness warped—and then two figures spilled out.

Seralyth emerged first, holding Caelen. She placed him carefully on the ground, her usually calm face showing the briefest sigh of relief. She had made it back. Safe—for now.

The moment she stepped aside, the girls crowded.

"What happened?" Emma asked quickly."Is he okay?" Evelyn’s tone was sharper, searching.Lucy’s eyes locked only on Caelen, scanning his face, his claws, the unnatural horns.

"Calm down," Seralyth said, raising her hand to slow them. "He’s stable. Barely."

The air was heavy with the sight of him. Taller than before—his frame rivaling Seralyth’s own height. Gray skin, purple hair matted down, horrific claws flexed even in unconsciousness, horns long and twisted.

Seralyth’s gaze shifted to Lucy. Her tone softened just slightly."He said your name. And... you two embracing, I think he was trying to imply—"

Lucy cut her off, lifting her hand. Her face already betrayed her realization.

Whatever Seralyth was about to spell out, she didn’t need to hear. She understood.

Her chest tightened. It would have been easier if it hadn’t been her. But part of her also knew... maybe this was always going to happen.

Evelyn asked quietly, "Are you going to be alright? We can come up with a different plan if it’s too much."

Lucy didn’t hesitate. "No. I’ll decide. I don’t want to change my mind later. So let me be."

Evelyn gave a slow nod and stepped back. Emma looked uncertain, still processing, but the implication was obvious now, even to her. She pressed her lips together and stayed silent.

For a brief moment, Emma wondered if bringing these other girls along had been a mistake. But she pushed that thought away—this wasn’t the time.

Elunara’s voice broke the tension."Well, we can’t do it here."

The others nodded. Even Lucy.

"I’ll be back," Seralyth said. She placed her hand on Lucy’s shoulder, grasped Caelen with her other arm, and in the next moment, the three of them were gone.

—

Lucy kept her eyes shut the entire time. The movement through the shadow dimension was unnatural, disorienting, and she wasn’t ready to see whatever lay in between.

When she opened them again, her breath caught.

They were standing in front of a tree so massive it seemed endless. The air shimmered with quiet power, and the land surrounding it looked nothing like a battlefield or cave. It was serene, pristine—like a private paradise. A place too expensive, too impossible, for anyone to simply own.

"Wow..." Lucy whispered, unable to stop herself. "Where are we?"

Her eyes darted across the land—ponds, carved paths, the sheer immensity of the tree’s presence. She could hardly look away.

Seralyth’s answer was steady. "I’m not sure this will work. That’s why I brought you here. It’s... a sacred place. One reserved for my family."

Lucy froze. "So I’m not even supposed to be here, am I?"

Seralyth tilted her head. "No. But it’s fine. Consider this an exception."

Lucy looked again at the towering tree, suddenly aware of how out of place she was. The weight of Seralyth’s words sank in. Exception.

Seralyth walked ahead and pointed to a smaller pond at the side. Its waters shimmered faintly under the glow of the massive tree. "Use that one. Not the great pond in the center—that’s Sylraen family only. There’s a barrier there. Don’t even think of touching it."

Her tone was final. Then, without waiting, she sank into her shadow and vanished.

Lucy was left alone.

She looked down at Caelen. His body was unfamiliar now, monstrous and powerful, yet broken.

She crouched and brushed her hand across his face. Cold. Rougher than before.

"This is really how it has to be, huh?" she whispered.

The weight of it pressed on her chest.

Their first time—something she had imagined differently, in a hundred better ways—was about to happen like this. Not awake. Not with words, not with choice. Just survival.

Her throat tightened. She hated it. She hated that he wasn’t here for this.

She carefully began to remove the shredded remnants of his clothes. Cloth hung loose, torn from whatever trials he had endured.

Before long, he was bare under the dim light. She looked at him again, sadness in her eyes, and then began undressing herself, fingers hesitating at every pull of fabric.

There was no joy in it. Only a desperate hope that this would save him.

—

Outside, Seralyth stood in the outer layer of shadow. She didn’t want to linger here. Not while Lucy carried out what she had to. Not while her own thoughts began to turn restless.

She considered returning to Elunara and the others, maybe telling them it had begun. That might ease their nerves.

She pulled out the book instead. She wanted to see how things were changing inside the system.

But the instant it appeared in her hand, it flickered. Her eyes widened as the book shimmered and then... vanished.

"What?" she muttered sharply, looking around.

Her hands searched the shadows, her aura flaring briefly as she tried to look around and search herself. Nothing.

She froze as she stood up, realization dawning.

The book had gone back to Caelen.

Inside Caelen

The first thing Caelen felt was pressure. A heavy, clawing weight sits in his chest. Hunger. That gnawing emptiness again.

He tried to recall what happened, anything, but the fragments slipped through his mind like water. Faces, pain, fire, the urge to tear everything apart. Then nothing. Blank space.

He groaned, clutching his head, when suddenly the world shifted.

The endless dark gave way to a strange, muted place. A dim sky stretched above him with no horizon, no ground, only a rippling surface beneath his feet that looked like water but didn’t move.

And in the middle of it sat a figure.

A demon, gray-skinned with long purple hair falling behind his shoulders, claws tapping against his knees, black wings curled like a mantle.

He sat cross-legged in perfect stillness, and between his hands floated a pulsing orb of shadow-light. His arms trembled slightly, as if just holding it there required effort.

Caelen froze. His instincts screamed danger, but before he could act, a sudden flicker of light interrupted.

A system screen appeared in front of him.

PLAYER INTERFACE

[Personal Info]

Name: Caelen

Race:

Demon

Age: 19

Affiliation: None

Title: King of Lust

Status: 3% Primordial Awakening (Starting)

Primordial Type: Demon

[Abilities]

Black Wings (Passive/Active) – New

Flight under command. Now capable of enduring powerful attacks. Minor resistance to light. Cannot withstand divine energy.

Demon Link (Passive) – Evolving

Bonded servants can receive commands, share energy (limited), or be summoned. Link strengthens through emotional connection.

Primordial Birth (Active)

Create a corruption seed. Transforms targets into high-tier Incubi/Succubi. Backlash risk if overused.

Side Effect: Transformed demons experience uncontrollable lust.

Cooldown: 1 month.

Demon Allure (Passive)Presence alone induces vulnerability and attraction.

Demon Form:

Always active, unavoidable, magic-free.

Human Form: Consumes Demon Energy.Works via eye contact, voice, and emotional closeness.

Effects: Emotional sway, trust shifts, resistance breaks.

Tier 1 intensity.Warning: May unintentionally charm linked targets.

Demon Form (Active)×5 boost to all stats.

Demon abilities cost no energy.

Transforms physical appearance—horns, aura, presence.Causes high temptation. Marks user to avoid demons/hunters.Duration: ??? (Scales with Endurance).

Primordial Authority (Passive/Active) – New

?#?#?#?#?#?#?#?

Caelen stared blankly. His heart hammered as the words burned into him.

"...What the hell is this?" he muttered, his voice cracking. He scrolled through the new powers in disbelief, eyes widening at [Black Wings] and [Primordial Authority].

But before he could process further, another notification shimmered across the screen.

[System Notice]

Absorbing foreign energy source...

Origin: Sacred Tree Pond of the Elves.

Effects: Extends life, restores the body to its peak condition, and strengthens the natural constitution.

Extraction in progress...[1/10 Primordial Points acquired.]

[System Core Evolution unlocked.]Loading... 4...27....56....78....99....100%

[Core successfully evolved.]

Caelen’s breath caught.

The pond. He can’t understand it, but he can see flashes of water glowing, his body sinking, the desperate pull of power flooding inside him.

His fists clenched as another wave of alien energy coursed through him, sharp and vibrant, nothing like the hollow hunger before.

"...Elves... gave me this?" he whispered, frowning. It didn’t make sense. Why would they? He had heard stories from a noble about the sacred tree pond, which he did not care about back then. In the past, people craved even a drop of water from that tree pond.

And he, of all people, had bathed in it, which he thinks, since he can’t tell where his body is.

His thoughts were still spiraling when a voice echoed, smooth and steady.

"You really are quite something, Caelen."

His head snapped up.

Across the still water, just beyond the purple-haired demon, stood a figure cloaked in shifting shadow. A woman’s outline, delicate yet commanding. Her features were hidden, her body blurred by the veil of light and darkness wrapping around her.

But her voice, he knew that voice.

His chest tightened. "You..."

The memory returned. The night he almost died. The whisper in the void. The one who gave him his first power.

The woman tilted her head, amusement lacing her tone. "Still alive, I see. And already causing ripples far greater than you realize."

-

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