43: A Tour Guide

Elizabeth exhaled slowly, her mind still reeling from the abyss she had just gazed into.

Lycius's soul was not normal.

It was not mortal.

It was a monolith—a radiant, all-consuming force that devoured everything it touched, reshaping it, reforging it into something more. The millions of souls he had claimed should have been resentful, should have cursed him from the depths of the afterlife.

Yet, instead, they worshipped him.

Adored him.

They clung to him like devoted disciples, offering their very essence, their last remnants of existence, to strengthen him—his soul, his dantians, his very being.

And his unopened dantians…

Elizabeth's breath hitched at the mere thought.

Even though they were still sealed, their vastness was undeniable. They did not feel like empty spaces waiting to be filled. No, they were galaxies—uncharted, limitless realms that could swallow anything whole once unleashed.

A moment of realization struck her.

If she opened them for him…

Would she be able to stop what came next?

The rational part of her screamed no.

The primal, twisted part of her—the dragon, the demon, the being that thrived on the unknown—ached to find out.

Her fingers twitched, magic at her fingertips, ready to forcefully awaken what lay dormant.

But she stopped.

No.

This is something he must do himself.

It was a strange, almost instinctive understanding—Lycius's growth was not something to be rushed by external forces. His power had a path of its own, an evolution that neither she nor Lana could dictate.

If she interfered now, if she tore those dantians open before their time…

She might ruin something far greater than even she could comprehend.

Slowly, she withdrew herself from his soulscape.

As her consciousness retreated from the abyss, she felt its pull—a relentless, insatiable force, as if the very essence of Lycius was calling for her to stay, to become part of his ever-growing dominion.

It took every ounce of her willpower to detach herself.

Her eyes fluttered open.

The training chamber came back into focus, yet her body felt light. Weak. As if her very existence had nearly been consumed by Lycius's sheer presence.

She took a deep breath, composing herself, before her golden gaze landed on her nephew.

He was still sitting there, his expression unreadable, but his presence…

His presence was far greater than before.

He's changing, even now.

Elizabeth placed a hand over her chest, feeling the wild thrumming of her own heart.

For the first time in centuries…

She didn't know if she should be terrified…

Or excited.

And then she saw it.

A smirk.

A slow, knowing smirk spreading across his lips.

A smirk that shouldn't exist.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Her mind screamed at her.

He knows.

Somehow, in that abyss, in that unfathomable ocean of souls and power—

He figured it out.

Something he wasn't supposed to understand this soon.

Elizabeth's golden eyes darkened, burning crimson once more.

Her voice was quiet, yet laced with a strange, thrilling tension.

"Lycius… what did you see?"

His smirk deepened.

And when he finally spoke—his voice was soft, amused, and impossibly calm.

"Enough."

A deep, amused chuckle slipped from Lycius's lips.

"Don't you think it's a little strange that my main dantian, despite its vastness, wasn't greedy enough to absorb everything?"

Elizabeth's breath stilled.

His words struck her like a blade of realization.

His dantian—unlike his soul—was not insatiable.

But why?

Her crimson eyes locked onto his, burning with intensity. His golden gaze had darkened, swirling with something unreadable, something far too knowing.

And then it dawned on her.

Lycius was the reason.

Somehow, without her even realizing it, he had used her. Not just as an observer—but as a guide, a means to navigate the labyrinth of his own being.

And now…

He knew where his dantians were.

Elizabeth's fingers curled slightly. The hardest part of unlocking one's dantians had always been finding them.

For most beings, it was a journey of years—sometimes even a lifetime—of trial and error, of sensing and meditating, of painstakingly carving a path toward that internal power.

For Lycius, it had taken minutes.

And opening them?

No, it wouldn't be easy.

For anyone else.

But Lycius was different.

With his sheer force… with his system backing him…

There was nothing in existence he could not forcefully unlock.

Nothing.

Elizabeth's chest rose and fell slowly, her mind racing.

Lycius had not just learned something today.

He had taken another step toward winning the bet.

Lycius's smirk deepened, dripping with the same arrogance that had always defined him.

"Thank you, Aunt… Without your help, I wouldn't have taken this step toward our deal. And like I said—prepare yourself to be my full-fledged woman."

Elizabeth didn't flinch.

Unlike her sister, Lana, she had long since accepted her own darkness. She had acknowledged the inevitable, embraced the twisted reality of what she truly desired.

Sooner or later, one of two things would happen.

Either she would become Lycius's woman…

Or Lycius would become her man.

Sadly, the circumstances pointed toward the former.

A smirk of her own curled her lips. With slow, deliberate movements, she reached forward, fingers grazing his chin before gripping it lightly. She leaned in—so close that their lips hovered just a breath apart.

Her voice was velvet and sin, dripping with a heat that could melt the strongest of wills.

"You say that… as if it's a bad thing."

Her allure was undeniable, potent enough to break even the most resilient.

But Lycius?

Lycius was her mirror.

The same personality. The same darkness. The same raw, untamed dominance.

His golden eyes burned with amusement, hunger, and something deeper—something primal.

He tilted his head slightly, his voice dropping into a low, husky whisper, each word laced with something dangerous.

"Oh no, trust me, it's not a bad thing."

His breath ghosted over her lips, each syllable like a caress.

"But for someone like you… someone who has always been dominant… it won't be easy for you to get used to submission."

Elizabeth's breath hitched.

"Because that's exactly what you'll become."

A pause.

"Mine."

His voice was a promise—a threat wrapped in sinful seduction.

"And trust me… you'll love it."

For the first time in centuries, Elizabeth's heart skipped.

A slow, heavy thrum echoed in her ears as his words settled deep within her, sending something hot and treacherous curling in her gut.

But just as quickly as the moment came, it was gone.

Lycius pulled away, standing effortlessly from his cross-legged position. The heat of his breath vanished, leaving Elizabeth in a haze of something she wasn't accustomed to feeling.

Disoriented.

His footsteps echoed as he strode toward the exit, his back exuding an effortless dominance that sent a wicked shiver down her spine.

Elizabeth remained still.

Mesmerized.

Damn him.

Her nephew—no, her soon-to-be something more—had shaken her.

She exhaled, a slow smirk forming.

"I wonder how Vynessa and Xylara are doing?" Lycius mused inwardly, disappearing from the training chamber.

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