The morning sun filtered through the silken curtains, but its warmth did little to dispel the chill in Arin's chest.
He sat on the edge of the bed, arms wrapped around himself, still in last night's rumpled clothes.
The scent of fear clung faintly to his skin, despite having washed.
Outside the cracked doorway, Eryas remained seated, cross-legged, his spear laid across his knees.
His eyes were half-closed, but Arin could feel the tension radiating off him like a taut string ready to snap.
"Did you even sleep?" Arin asked softly, stepping over the threshold.
Eryas opened one eye. "Didn't plan to."
Arin lowered his gaze. "Thanks… again. I would've—"
"You didn't," Eryas cut in gently, standing.
"That's all that matters."
They said no more as they walked through the stone paths toward the central hall, but something unspoken passed between them — a fragile thread of trust beginning to weave itself.
The room was circular and dimly lit, with polished obsidian pillars surrounding a stone dais.
Council members lined the chamber, clothed in traditional robes of shifting blues and greens — like wind and water frozen in cloth.
Arin stood at the center, feeling exposed.
Karo stood beside him, face a storm of worry and restraint.
"An outsider entered the sacred guest quarters," said a silver-eyed elder, voice sharp and cold.
"This is an affront to our laws."
"And to the balance," added a masked man, voice thick with age.
"He wasn't just any intruder. He reeked of the Underdeep."
That sent murmurs rippling through the council.
Karo stepped forward, jaw tense.
"Why wasn't the perimeter barrier active? Why was Arin, a recognized guest of flame inheritance, left vulnerable?"
"That is what we are trying to determine," snapped the silver-eyed elder, narrowing his gaze.
"Save your scolding," Karo muttered, brushing past Arin to glare at the council.
"If Eryas hadn't intervened, we'd be discussing a corpse. Or worse."
"Enough," a commanding voice echoed.
An elder with dark bronze skin and a wolf-carved staff stepped forward.
"The fault is not with the boy. Nor the guardian. This village owes him protection. We failed him."
He turned to Arin directly, gaze softer.
"We will investigate this breach. Until then, you are not to be alone, understood?"
Arin nodded faintly.
"And… if I may," Karo added, stepping beside Arin again, "I volunteer to be his shadow."
Arin turned sharply. "You don't have to—"
"I want to."
His voice was low, but there was something in his eyes — protective, and just a little afraid.
The council exchanged quiet nods, then dismissed them both.
...
As they walked beneath the arching branches of starbark trees, Arin finally exhaled.
Karo glanced sideways. "Are you alright?"
"I guess," Arin said, running a hand through his hair. "Still kind of rattled."
A pause.
"I was scared," Arin admitted. "Not just of him. Of how close it got."
"I know," Karo said.
"I should've been there. I should've sensed it."
"You weren't the only one," Arin muttered.
"Even the system didn't warn me."
Karo placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"From now on, no one touches you unless you want them to. That's a promise."
Their eyes locked.
And this time, Arin didn't look away.
As their eyes locked, the air between them seemed to still — not heavy, but charged, like a current of something unnamed running beneath the silence.
Karo's hand lingered on Arin's shoulder, grounding him. Protective. Close.
And Arin didn't flinch.
He didn't pull away.
He let it linger.
Then—[DING!]
A translucent blue screen shimmered faintly in the air beside Arin's vision — visible only to him.
He groaned internally.
[Gay Path Progress: 7%]
[Trigger Achieved: Voluntary Proximity Maintenance + Emotional Vulnerability Shared (Mutual)]
[New Bonus Unlocked: "Shared Guard" — Karo's presence grants passive resistance to Fear-based status effects.]
Arin blinked once at the display, deadpan.
"Are you serious…"
Karo tilted his head, concern deepening. "What is it?"
Arin forced a crooked smile. "Just… thinking. Long day."
Karo watched him for a moment longer but didn't press. "We'll take it slow. You've been through enough."
Arin gave a tight nod, subtly swiping the screen away while Karo looked toward the trees.
The glow vanished.
But the message remained burned into his mind.
[Gay Path: 7% – Active.]
He sighed under his breath.
First a stolen kiss from a warrior, now emotional checkpoints?
He looked at Karo's face — calm, focused, and quietly concerned.
And though he wanted to deny it…
His chest no longer felt quite so cold.
His steps weren't quite so unsteady.
And that frightened him almost as much as the intruder had.
Elsewhere — In a Palace Beyond Worlds
Beneath a sky of molten stars and drifting moons, the palace of the Golden God lay suspended in timeless serenity.
Its heart was a chamber carved from light itself, where gold veined the air like thunder trapped in crystal.
And at its center, an endless bed stretched across the horizon — soft as cloud, wide as a continent — where warmth and power coiled like twin serpents.
Kal, the radiant god, lay back upon the silken plain, whole body naked, his body gently gleaming with golden power.
His sculpted form blazed like a statue.
All around him, bodies slept — soft, gorgeous, divine.
Women of unfathomable beauty and power, each claimed by fate and by him, lay curled around his limbs in peaceful exhaustion.
Millions, if not more.
Hair like waterfalls, skin kissed by every hue of heaven, hips curved like sculpture — wives, lovers, consorts.
His alone.
His to protect.
His to love.
His to own.
Kal exhaled slowly, a smile playing at his lips as he turned his head.
Lois lay curled at his right, her dark hair spread over his arm, the slope of her bare chest rising softly.
On his left, Kara nestled against him, her fingers twitching faintly in sleep.
He chuckled low, squeezing both gently — one hand cupping Kara's firm breast, the other kneading Lois's soft curves.
The motion stirred both women in their dreams.
They sighed in unison, soft moans escaping their parted lips.
Kal chuckled again, quietly.
"Even sleeping, you surrender to me," he breathed.
But his gaze was distant.
Past the pleasure of the moment.
Past the silk and breeze and golden warmth.
Kal recalled Arin — the defiant boy, the misguided savior.
"A little spark in a world that forgot what fire is," Kal said to no one.
"You wished for a harem of beauty… so I gave you one. Just not the type you expected."
A slow grin curved across his face, not unkind, but villain type nonetheless.
"A world of loyal, hungry men. Strong. Obsessive. Beautiful in ways you never imagined. A lesson in surrender through resistance."
He closed his eyes briefly, tasting the fates weaving around the boy like slow fire.
"But you're strong, Arin. You'll surprise even yourself."
His tone playful now.
Kal's gaze drifted toward the empty space beside his divine throne — the one untouched, unclaimed.
His mother.
She had not joined them this time.
He had not summoned her. He had not forced her.
He loathed that kind of domination — even if he could command it.
He could wait.
He had eternity.
For now, he leaned back against a mound of goddess-smooth flesh and pillowed sighs, letting Lois and Kara melt into his sides as he closed his eyes once more.
The stars shifted above him.
And far away, Arin trembled under a growing storm.
Kal's smile returned — slow, pleased, merciless.
"Let's see what you become… boy."
To Be Continued...