|Jude|
"The time has come," I announced, my eyes blazing with determination, as Cordelia and I prepared to embark on our next journey into the relictomb. The last few months had been spent in revolution-building and intensive training, primarily focused on developing our new powers.
"Now, it's time to surpass them all," I declared, clenching my fist and igniting a fierce fire in my eyes. "I will surpass every asura with this relictomb."
Seris nodded in agreement, her voice resolute. "I'll handle everything happening here, so you can focus solely on becoming stronger and obtaining more Godrunes."
I nodded in gratitude, and Cordelia shared a warm embrace with Caera before we vanished from the scene. Using her spatium abilities, Cordelia teleported us away to our next destination, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
________________________________________________
|Arthur|
Sylphiette's piercing gaze met mine, her voice cold and direct. "Arthur, do you seek to gain greater strength?"
I nodded, eager to seize any opportunity that would aid me in my quest for power.
"Good," she responded, her tone still as icy as before. "As I previously mentioned, I will assist you in absorbing the dragon heart. However, due to your half-asuran body, you will require my aid to complete the process."
Her abrupt shift in topic caught me off guard, but before I could question her further, she asked, "Where is the bath?"
I hesitated before replying, "It's this way."
She led the way through a maze of hallways until we reached my private quarters. Opening the door, she scanned the room before walking over to the enormous marble bath.
"Interesting," she remarked in a deadpan voice. "For a loner, you certainly have a spacious bathing area."
I bristled at her comment, feeling the need to defend myself. "As one of the Lances of Dicathen, it's only fitting that I have a proper bath."
Ignoring my retort, Sylphiette ordered me to turn off the shadow wolf before entering the room. I complied and sat on the stool, ready for her instructions.
As she began her preparations, I couldn't help but hear Regis' voice in my head, urging me not to fall for her. Suppressing his concerns, I separated him from my body, explaining that Sylphiette would not be able to read my thoughts with him gone.
I took a deep breath, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment and confusion as Sylphiette began to undress. "Wait, why are you taking off your clothes?" I stammered, trying to keep my voice steady.
She looked at me with a deadpan expression. "There needs to be skin-to-skin contact between our cores for the best possible dragon heart integration," she said matter-of-factly.
My heart raced as she gestured for me to do the same. I hesitated for a moment, feeling a mix of fear and excitement. But I knew I had to do it if I wanted to gain more strength.
I slowly took off my shirt and asked nervously, "There's no need to take off the bottom, right?"
Sylphiette turned to face me, revealing her large, pale breasts. My eyes widened in surprise, but I quickly looked away, trying to maintain some level of composure.
"Don't get any ideas," she warned, stepping closer to me. "If you do, I will rip off your little brother."
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I realized that I had been staring. I shook my head and focused on the task at hand, trying to ignore the distracting thoughts in my head.
Sylphiette's stoic expression didn't falter as she sat on my lap, her back pressing against my chest. I could feel her body heat, but I pushed the sensation aside and focused on what she was doing. She summoned a hemisphere, brimming with aether and mana.
'That must be the dragon heart,' I thought to myself.
"Close your eyes," she ordered, "and focus on the flow of mana and aether inside your body."
I followed her instructions, feeling the trickle of mana and aether enter my body. With a deep breath, I guided them to my integration core, causing it to light up and shine brighter.
The slow process continued for hours until Sylphiette warned me of the critical stage. "This is when you form your personal dragon heart," she cautioned. "Be careful. Even though you're only combining your own integration mana core with half of Sylvia's dragon heart, you can die if you don't do this properly."
I nodded, feeling the intensity of the mana and aether as they entered my core. My breathing grew heavy as I strained to guide them and form my own dragon heart.
Suddenly, I screamed in agony, clutching the area where my mana core was located. The mana and aether collided, threatening to destroy the balance within my core and obliterate my body.
"Shit!" Sylphiette swore as she placed her hands on my chest, sending her aether into my body to help calm my almost-formed dragon heart.
As I struggled to remain conscious, I understood what Sylvia had meant. "Thank you," I whispered before regaining control over the flow inside my body. Every pore on my skin tingled with energy as I felt the mana and aether flow with ease.
I marveled at my newfound strength. "''m five times stronger than before,' I thought. 'No, ten times. Perhaps even as strong as Jude was before he left for Alacarya.'
Sylphiette's voice held a note of awe as she spoke, "Your dragon heart is still in its nascent stage. But once you master it, you will undoubtedly reach the level of Sovereigns, or perhaps even surpass Sylvia in the future."