Seryn sat in deep meditation as the sixth day passed slowly behind the veil of the forge's glow. Her wounds—spiritual and physical—had fully mended. The last trace of pain had faded like a scar remembered only in dreams. Her body now thrummed with quiet power, dark essence flowing cleanly through her core.
She had healed. Entirely.
Her eyes opened as Soyang entered the room.
His footsteps were silent, but his presence felt like a storm cloud pressing against the walls. The forge behind him flickered, casting long shadows over his face.
Seryn met his gaze with steady eyes.
"I'm fully healed now," she said calmly. "What do you want from me?"
Soyang didn't speak right away. He simply looked at her, eyes cold, unreadable.
Then he said, "Your dark element."
Seryn frowned. "What do you mean?"
Soyang's answer was simple. Icy. Unflinching.
"We'll dual cultivate. That requires physical connection—intimate contact. A full union."
The words struck her like lightning.
Seryn's breath caught. She stepped back, lips parting in disbelief. "You… you want to—sleep with me?"
Seryn shook her head slowly, eyes wide. "You can't be serious."
"You don't have a choice."
Her heart pounded in her ears.
"This isn't cultivation," she whispered. "This is coercion."
Soyang stepped forward, slowly, like a blade descending in slow motion. His hand brushed the side of her arm—not gently, but as if confirming she was real. She tensed.
"Your soul is marked," he said. "You can't run. And I don't have time to wait for you to feel ready. If we don't do this now, both of us will suffer in the days to come."
Then, without another word, he moved closer. His hand went to her shoulder.
"Don't," she said, voice trembling. "Please."
But he didn't stop.
She staggered backward, but the bed was behind her. He pressed her down—not harshly, but without offering a choice. The cold fabric touched her back. She stared up at him, eyes wide with fear and confusion.
And then… darkness.
The forge dimmed. The chamber closed around them. The air pulsed with low energy—rising, crashing, like waves against the cliffs.
There was no heat. No passion. Only cold purpose.
Outside, no one heard the low cries that slipped beneath the heavy door.
---
The Next Morning
The light of dawn pushed against the chamber window.
Seryn lay motionless on the bed, a thin sheet drawn halfway across her bare form. Her back was to the door. Her hair, once neat and tightly tied, now fell over her shoulder in a tangled wave.
She didn't move.
Her body still carried the traces of the cultivation energy they had shared—cold, lingering like frost across her skin. But her face was blank. Eyes half-closed in restless sleep.
The ritual had worked.
Her cultivation had advanced.
But something else had shifted—quietly, invisibly—between them.
Not trust.
Not hate.
Something colder.
A binding neither of them could escape.
The morning came with a whisper, not light.
Seryn stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open slowly, breath shallow as her vision adjusted to the dim forge-glow.
The air was still heavy with spiritual pressure.
She sat up—her limbs stiff, her soul sore—and scanned the room. Cold stone, faint embers… and Soyang, seated in the main hall before a swirling formation of dark essence. He was cultivating, his back straight as a blade, eyes closed. Shadows clung to him like loyal ghosts.
He did this to me, she thought, her chest tightening.
Her fingers trembled as she reached for her robes. Her movements were slow, cautious. Her body still felt different—flooded with foreign power. As if she no longer belonged to herself entirely.
Once dressed, she stepped lightly toward the main hall.
The moment her foot crossed the threshold, Soyang's eyes opened.
Dark. Clear. Merciless.
The system's voice echoed faintly in his mind:
—Dark essence acquisition complete. New resonance achieved. Inner meridian compression optimized.
He looked at her.
Her frame was thin and tense. She stood at the edge of the formation, shivering—not from cold, but uncertainty.
"Sit down," Soyang said, calm and direct. "Stabilize your energy. We'll talk after."
Seryn hesitated, then silently obeyed. She lowered herself to the ground, sitting opposite him.
She closed her eyes, and for a moment, let the essence within her flow. It was thick, heavy—like ink spreading through clear water. But it responded to her now. Yielded to her touch.
Minutes passed.
Then, hours.
And then she spoke, her voice quiet but steady.
"Soyang. Now what?"
He exhaled slowly, then answered with a strange calm.
"Now… I don't need anything from you."
Seryn blinked. Confused.
"But I must tell you something."
He stood and walked over, placing a hand behind his back. "You remember I told you the dual cultivation
"Yes."
"You carried more than just power." He paused. "You carry life."
Seryn stared. "…What?"
"You're pregnant."
The words landed like a blow.
Her breath hitched. "That's not possible."
"Feel for yourself."
She hesitated, then placed a hand on her stomach.
The moment she touched it—her spiritual sense flared. A second core pulsed faintly beneath her own. Small. Weak. But unmistakably alive.
Her knees buckled.
"No. No, no, no…" she whispered, her voice cracking. "This… I didn't agree to this…"
Her fingers dug into her stomach as tears filled her eyes. "I'll destroy it. I'll kill it now—"
She gathered spiritual force.
But just as she prepared to strike—
A faint golden glow ignited across her abdomen.
Strange runes spiraled over her skin like a brand. And then, words appeared—etched in divine script:
"This child is not killed. Until the age of twenty-five, no power may sever its thread."
Seryn stiaggered backward.
"What is this?! What kind of seal is this?!"
Soyang said , this dual cultivation because you pregnant
Silence.
Seryn's hands fell to her lap, her eyes hollow. "I didn't choose this."
"No," Soyang said. " This is not your choice , it is my choice."
He turned away, his tone colder than before. "You can hate me if you want.
Soyang stood beneath the waning moonlight, the wind carrying the His gaze was distant, heavy with sorrow.
I hat women
" my cultivation path is revange on women, with many women… not for pleasure, but for revange. Dual cultivation — a method as ancient as the heavens ancient God . Yet no one remembers me afterward. The moment it's done, their memories fade, as if I were a passing dream they can no longer grasp.
It is the curse of women — to be forgotten by every soul I've ever touched.
But you… I didn't erase your memory.
Because I want
You'll remember everything. Every moment, every breath, every heartbeat we shared. I won't stay forever — I never do. But until the child is born, you may stay here. This place will shelter you, protect you, nourish the life growing inside you.
And when the time comes… I'll leave.
No goodbyes. Just silence. Like I was never here at all."
He turned, the soft rustle of his robe brushing against the stone floor. His back faced her, yet his voice lingered with an ache that pierced the stillness.
"This… is the path I chose. And this is the price I pay.
Soyang he moved forward
He simply walked back to the formation, sat down, and resumed his cultivation—as if the conversation never happened.
But behind him…
Seryn's hands trembled around her stomach, and her tears finally fell.
Seryn said " know what I do "