47: Rewritten

Time dragged on.

Lycius, reclining on the lavish, silk-draped bed, watched as Xylara's unconscious body trembled beneath the weight of his will.

Her transformation had taken longer than expected—far longer than expected. Minutes felt like hours, stretching into a monotonous eternity as he meticulously dismantled and reconstructed the mind of a woman who had lived for centuries.

Though his Aetherius energy had surged ceaselessly since, though he had been wielding his authority without pause, he was not tired.

But he was terribly, excruciatingly bored.

Rewriting the very essence of someone as ancient and complex as Xylara required patience, and patience was not one of his virtues. His fingers lazily tapped against his temple, his golden eyes half-lidded with disinterest.

But, at last, the final threads were woven, the last remnants of resistance obliterated.

And so, Xylara Lightbringer, the woman she had once been, ceased to exist.

Lycius had not erased everything. No, that would have been wasteful.

He had merely corrected her.

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What He Rewrote

1. The Erasure of Her Angelic Husband

The last fragile fragments of her dead husband's memory were annihilated. His voice, his touch—all of it was stripped from her mind, as though he had never existed.

The love she once held for him? Turned to dust.

The grief of his loss? Reduced to nothing.

The very notion that she had ever lain with another man—gone.

Now, Vynessa was no longer a child born of an Angel and a Succubus. That truth had been discarded, rewritten with a more convenient reality—Vynessa was a daughter crafted through forbidden magic, an experiment brought to life by Xylara's own ambition.

With this, Xylara was cleansed of all past ties to any man.

Now, there was only Lycius.

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2. The Truth of Betrayal

Lycius had no intention of absolving Xylara of her betrayal against Lana and Elizabeth. No, that part of her history remained untouched.

But the reason behind it? That, he had sculpted into something far more useful.

Before, she had betrayed them out of fear. She had seen the humans grow to be an unstoppable force, a threat that could annihilate her kind, and in Lana's absence, she had sought to preserve her people through treachery.

But now?

She had betrayed them for him.

Her ambition had not been for survival. It had been for Lycius.

Even before she knew of his existence, she had dreamed of his name—a whisper in the abyss, a prophecy buried in her soul. She had sought to overthrow Lana to pave the way for her true master.

She had acted with devotion.

With loyalty.

With bravery—daring to betray the most powerful swordwoman in history in service of a being she had never met.

This new truth would solidify her undying faith in him. A belief that she had always been his—that even before she knew him, she had belonged to him.

And when Lana and Elizabeth learned of this?

They would seethe.

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3. The Reshaping of Emotion

Her love for Vynessa? Untouched. There was no need to interfere.

Her despair and hatred? Erased. Those emotions served no purpose.

In their place, he had planted new, stronger sentiments.

–Disgust for any man who was not Lycius. The mere thought of another male would be enough to turn her stomach.

–Absolute loyalty and obedience toward Lycius. His word was her law. His desire was her purpose.

–A world that revolved around him. If before she had many concerns—power, vengeance, survival—now she had only one. Lycius.

–No fear. Not for any man, not for any woman. Whether they were stronger than her or not, it did not matter. Only Lycius could command fear.

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4. The Disregard for Her Fallen Subjects

Where once she might have mourned them, now, their deaths did not even register.

The lives she had taken with her own hands—the followers she had once cherished—were nothing more than footnotes in her past.

They were not worth her attention.

They were not worth her grief.

They simply did not matter.

_________

5. A New Lust for Blood

And finally—a gift.

Lycius had turned Xylara's disgust for blood into love.

Not merely tolerance, but deep, visceral enjoyment. The sight, the scent, the taste—she would revel in it.

And with this, she had gained something precious.

A shared passion with her daughter.

With Vynessa.

Perhaps, in time, they would spill blood together.

________

Completion

Lycius sighed, his amusement rekindled as he felt Xylara's new self solidify.

The work had been tedious. Painstaking.

But now, she was perfect.

Slowly, his golden eyes flickered to her trembling form.

Her breathing was uneven.

Her body—drenched in sweat, glowing in the soft morning light—shuddered as her mind fully accepted its new reality.

Lycius leaned forward, brushing his fingers along her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin. She was still unconscious, her lips slightly parted, her chest rising and falling in a rapid rhythm.

And then—

Her eyes opened.

The violet hue within them shimmered—no longer the same, no longer belonging to the woman who had once defied him.

She stared at him, silent, unreadable.

And then—slowly, deeply, reverently—

She smiled.

"...Master."

The moment her violet eyes gleamed brightly, Lycius barely had time to react.

A blur of motion—a sudden lunge.

Before he could smirk, before he could even finish savoring the sound of her voice, Xylara had already pounced.

Her body crashed into his, pressing him against the silk-covered mattress, her bare skin feverishly hot against his own.

She didn't hesitate. Didn't speak.

She licked him.

Long. Slow. Shameless.

Her tongue traced the sharp edge of his jaw, dragging upwards to his cheek, her breath ragged, desperate, her violet eyes glazed with pure, unfiltered need.

"Ahhh... Master..." she purred, her voice thick with lust, a sound so drenched in longing it sent a wave of heat through Lycius's veins.

Again, she licked, lapping at his skin like he was the sweetest nectar she had ever tasted.

Again.

Again.

Her hands roamed—possessive, desperate. She pressed herself against him, her body writhing as if just the mere lack of his touch was suffocating.

Lycius watched, amused.

He had expected devotion.

He had expected submission.

But this?

This was an entirely new breed of obsession.

This… was something he had added for his own pleasure.

He never realized he would love this kind of activity.

Not just the act itself—but the power of it. The sheer control.

And so, he had crafted her into something… more.

Xylara was now addicted to him.

Every breath he took, she craved it.

Every touch, her body yearned for it.

His scent, his taste, his presence—to her, they were like the strongest aphrodisiac, a drug that made her entire existence spiral into unbearable heat.

Being near him sent her hormones into overdrive.

Being apart from him for too long? Unthinkable.

But Lycius had also prepared for the consequences.

Because sometimes, her hunger would be uncontrollable.

That was why he had embedded a safeguard—an unbreakable chain wrapped around her very soul.

The Abyssal Chains of Submission had left behind its most powerful mark—

The Mark of Submission.

Those branded with it would develop an insatiable dependency.

Pleasure? Could only come from him.

Purpose? Could only be found in him.

Fulfillment? Impossible without him.

And right now…

Xylara was suffering under the full force of that effect.

Her body trembled with need.

Her nails dug into his shoulders, her breath erratic, her thighs pressing together in frustration.

She needed more.

More.

More.

Yet, with just a single thought—a mere flicker of his will—

It all stopped.

Xylara gasped—a sharp, choked sound as if something had been abruptly ripped from her.

The unbearable heat—vanished.

The all-consuming hunger—dissolved into nothingness.

For a moment, she looked stunned.

Then, her violet eyes narrowed, and her lips curled into something between a pout and a scowl.

"Master… that's unfair."

Lycius chuckled, running his fingers through her silver hair.

"Is it?" he mused, watching as her body trembled beneath him, still recovering from the sudden loss of desire.

The sheer power he held over her was intoxicating.

But just as easily as he had taken it away…

He could give it back.

And so, he did.

A gasp.

A shudder.

And then—Xylara was moaning, her entire body arching as the unbearable need came surging back with devastating force.

"Ahhh—!!"

She trembled, her body immediately seeking his warmth, her breath shattering into soft, desperate whimpers.

But this time, Lycius didn't stop her.

He smirked.

Time to enjoy myself.

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