Desire’s Whisperer

Ashen planned to show his own status, flaws and all. She'd probably just laugh it off with that usual warmth of hers.

But for now, curiosity took over.

He turned to the status screen.

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[1. General information]

Name/Arrival Date: Seraphine Kingsley – 2025/02/11

Sex/Age: Female / 26

Height/Weight: 170 cm / 62 kg

Current Condition: Perfectly Healthy

Pathway: 7th Step Desire's Whisperer

Thema: Anima

Affiliation: The Chapel of the Everlasting Covenant (Temp)

Title: None

[2. Traits]

Optimistic: Maintains a hopeful and positive outlook, inspiring and uplifting those around her.

Easygoing Nature: Relaxed and composed, rarely succumbs to stress or anxiety.

Scatterbrained Genius: Disorganized in daily life, but when stakes are high, reveals exceptional focus, intelligence, and skill.

Guarded Devotion: Warm and approachable but highly selective in romance. Keeps others at arm's length until she finds the right person—then becomes deeply devoted and unwaveringly loyal.

[3. Physical Level]

Strength: F- | Endurance: F- | Agility: F+ | Perception: F | Stamina: F | Mana: F+

[4. Abilities]

4.1 Innate Powers: 

None.

4.2 Path Skills:

Soulweaver's Whisper:

Softly voice your desires to weave Mana threads, linking you to others. These threads heal wounds, both internal and external, while subtly intensifying the desires of all who are connected.

Desire's Renewal:

Draws upon the anima of longing and connection to cleanse negative effects, such as curses, poisons, or fatigue, restoring balance to the body and spirit.

4.3 Other Abilities:

Whip Crack (Entry+), Whip Coiling (Entry-), Figure Eight (Entry), Soothing Touch (Basic+), Crude Mana Control (Entry-), Manawind Sigh (Basic-), Mana circulation (Entry+)

[5. Cognitive Depth] Ashamed / Resilient / Generous

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As Ashen started reading from the top, his eyes naturally landed on her Perfectly Healthy body condition.

...Lucky her.

A flicker of envy surfaced but was quickly brushed aside. He'd take a healthy Seraphine any day over swapping places. 

Even if given the choice, he wouldn't trade his condition for hers… not just because he cared about her, but because he doubted anyone else could endure the agony of his crippled circuits for more than a day.

The sheer torment of accidentally forcing mana through those damaged pathways still haunted him in his sleep.

...Moving on.

His eyes trailed to her pathway title, and as the information settled in his mind, his brows slowly rose.

He lifted his gaze and gave Seraphine a long, questioning look.

"...Desire's Whisperer?" His voice carried the weight of unspoken thoughts. "Isn't that from the Lust pathway? I'm not judging, but… are you sure you can handle it?"

"Ugh, please don't remind me." Seraphine groaned, dragging a hand down her face. But then, with renewed energy, she snapped, "What choice did I even have?! This blasted system told me I had 80% compatibility with Lust! My only other option was Greed at 7%! It practically shoved me into it!"

If that was the extent of her complaint, Ashen would've thought she was overreacting.

But something about her frustration told him there was more to this.

He continued reading as he muttered absentmindedly, "Is it really that bad, though?"

Seraphine, who caught his words, slumped in defeat.

"Well… It's not that bad now, but since I picked Lust, sooner or later I'll have to do… lustful things if I want to advance."

She hesitated before adding in an uneasy tone, "And that's my problem. I don't think I'm ready for any of it."

Ashen, who had already scanned her traits, immediately understood the issue.

Her Guarded devotion trait made it obvious… it wasn't about being ready so much as finding the right person.

Still, he couldn't help but admire Seraphine as a person. Her traits were overwhelmingly positive… Optimistic, easygoing, warm, and devoted once she let someone in. 

Even the scatterbrained genius part just made her more endearing.

—Unlike a certain guy…

But that was a thought for another time.

For now, Seraphine's mind was spiraling into worst-case scenarios, so Ashen figured it was best to ground her.

"Well," he started, voice steady, "since it doesn't say you have to do anything extreme right away, let's take it one step at a time."

"...Alright." Seraphine sighed, but the way she said it lacked hope.

Ashen frowned. She was still stuck on this.

"First, we should figure out what you actually need to do for the embodiment to work," he said, shifting into analysis mode since she clearly wasn't in the state of mind for it.

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Okay… Whisperer suggests you need to be within close range of another person. Possibly as close as…" He paused, considering. "An embrace's distance."

Seraphine grimaced.

"Yes…" she muttered, already groaning since she already knew where this was going.

"Then you'll have to speak your desires to someone," Ashen continued, pausing briefly before elaborating. "And 'desires' can mean a lot of things. It could be something small, like craving a hot meal, or something big, like wanting to get married or buy a house."

"Uh-huh." Seraphine nodded, following along.

Gauging her reaction, he decided to state the obvious.

"But since your chosen pathway is Lust, only lustful desires count toward embodying your path."

Seraphine stared at him, unblinking, as if waiting for him to continue.

He wasn't sure if she was playing dumb or if her brain had completely checked out, but either way, he decided to spell it out for her.

"In short, you have to whisper your sexual fantasies—things like what kind of man you want, how you'd like him to hold you, in what position you want him to take you, how hard you—"

"OKAY! OKAY! I GET IT! PLEASE STOP~~~"

Her face burned bright red as she launched herself at him, slamming both palms over his mouth to shut him up.

Ashen smirked against her hands. He really couldn't help teasing her. Consider it a little payback for all the times she'd made him flustered.

But still… 80% compatibility with Lust? Looking at her now, he had a hard time believing it. Outwardly, she was about as far from "lustful" as one could get.

So, what gave her such a high score?

Was there another criterion?

'...Or was she one of those closet perverts?'

Ashen quickly shook off the thought before his mind went somewhere he didn't want it to.

"Okay, okay…" He grabbed her wrists gently, prying her hands away from his mouth. "Relax, I won't bring it up again."

Seraphine shot him a warning glare, clearly trying to intimidate him. But with her flushed face and pouting lips, all she managed to do was make herself look more adorable.

The urge to tease her further was almost unbearable.

And judging by the way her eyes narrowed, she knew it.

"Ashen…" she muttered, her voice low.

...Yeah, she was getting mad.

"Alright, alright, I promise I won't say any more embarrassing things." He held up his hands in surrender before shifting to a more serious tone. "But Sera, you can't keep reacting like this. If just talking about it gets you this flustered, how are you ever going to advance?"

Seraphine exhaled sharply, her shoulders slumping. "...I know."

She looked so defeated, her pout deepening like a sulking child.

Ashen's expression softened. She had helped him more than he could ever repay, so if there were a way to help her through this, he'd do it.

Running a hand through his hair, an idea suddenly struck him.

"How about this?" he started. "Instead of telling someone else, what if you whispered your desires to yourself? Would that still count?"

"Hmm…" Seraphine mulled over the idea, tapping her chin before shaking her head. "It might work, but embodiment is also about interacting with and affecting others, not just myself."

"Ah, right. Forgot about that part." Ashen gave her a sheepish smile.

Now that he thought about it, his own pathway worked the same way. He'd have to find people and guide them into having dreams.

'Something to worry about later.'

Right now, Seraphine needed his attention.

She was still weighing the feasibility of his suggestion, but from the look on her face, she wasn't having much luck.

"It might work for the 7th Step," she admitted, "but it'd take way longer to advance if I relied on just that."

Ashen nodded, discarding the idea. Slowing her progress now could be dangerous, potentially fatal even, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Then what about finding another woman to help you?" he suggested. "It should be less embarrassing that way, right?"

Seraphine grimaced. "Ugh, Ashen, if it really came down to it, I'd rather do it with you than some stranger. If she doesn't keep her mouth shut, rumors will spread. I'm already getting too much attention as it is."

Her whiny tone made it clear just how much she hated the idea.

Then suddenly, she froze.

"Wait… I could use you!"

As if the solution to all her problems had just smacked her in the face, she bounced excitedly on the sofa, her optimism returning in full force.

Ashen blinked.

Then blinked again.

What?

He stood there, utterly bewildered. It took a second for his brain to catch up, and when it did, he was even more dumbfounded.

'Didn't she have a problem doing this with men earlier? What changed?!'

And more importantly—

'Use me? Did she have to say it like that?'

"Uhh, Seraphine," he said slowly, "I'm a man. Remember?"

"Of course, I know that!" She huffed, wagging a finger at him. "Ashen, sometimes you say the silliest things."

'At least she's back to her usual self.'

Which also meant the teasing was back.

"Right." He exhaled. "And you don't have a problem with that?"

Seraphine put on a mockingly thoughtful expression before shrugging. "Nope."

Ashen waited for her to elaborate.

She didn't.

Instead, she just stood there, looking smug like she'd cracked the code to life itself.

Sigh.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Ashen muttered under his breath.

"Women…"

At least that was one problem solved.