Kael's campfire crackled low in the distance, its light barely reaching the shadowed edge of the ruined temple where Aiko now stood. Moonlight filtered through broken stained glass, bathing her bare shoulders in fragmented color. The air was thick—humid with magic and something else. Anticipation.
Behind her, the air shifted.
"You came," she said without turning.
"I told you I would," said a low voice.
Damon, the incubi general, stepped into the broken light. He moved like a storm barely restrained—shoulders loose, power radiating from every inch of his sculpted frame. Aiko met his eyes and saw it again: that infernal mix of reverence and hunger. But this time, she wasn't prey.
This time, she'd called him.
She needed to understand what the Breedbound system wanted from her—beyond submission, beyond lust. Kael had taught her to resist. Damon, she hoped, could teach her to control.
"Why did you agree?" she asked softly.
Damon smiled, baring perfect white teeth. "Because I'm curious what it would be like to be ruled by someone like you."
He stepped closer.
The system pulsed in her mind, chiming like a heartbeat.
[==== SYSTEM NOTICE ====]
New Sync Opportunity Identified
Target: Damon, Incubus Commander
Class: Pleasuremancer
Available Skill Upon Sync: Aphroditic Aura – Passive lust field affecting nearby targets.
Risk: High. Subject is a natural Dominant.
Sync Mode: Dual submission or emotional leverage advised.
[===========================]
Aiko's pulse jumped.
"What do you want from me?" she asked, voice barely audible.
Damon stopped inches from her. "What all men want. But unlike them, I'm willing to earn it."
She raised her chin defiantly. "Then earn it."
His eyes glinted.
And then he bowed.
Not a mocking dip of the head, but a full-body gesture of submission—power choosing restraint. It made her breath catch.
"Command me," he said.
She stepped forward slowly, fingers brushing his jaw. Her touch was light, but the power in it was unmistakable. Damon's eyes fluttered for just a moment. "Remove your shirt," she said.
He obeyed.
Each muscle that came into view was a promise of danger and pleasure. Runes glowed faintly across his chest, symbols of his rank, his magic... and his past. She traced one, watching his skin shiver under her touch.
"You're not used to being touched like this," she said.
"No," he admitted. "Not with reverence."
She smiled. "Good."
Their mouths met like a challenge, not a kiss. Lips clashed, teeth scraped, tongues tangled. It wasn't gentle—it was war, and she refused to be the one who surrendered first.
His hands settled on her waist, fingers digging into her hips through the sheer robe Kael had begrudgingly given her days ago. She arched into him, daring him to go further—and he did.
She moaned softly, but caught herself. No. She had to stay in control. Damon's kiss shifted, growing more coaxing. She realized then—he was testing her resolve.
And she wasn't going to fail.
She pushed him backward until his knees hit the broken altar. He sat, eyes burning. She climbed into his lap, straddling him, holding his wrists down. "No tricks," she whispered against his ear.
"Only what you command," he said, voice ragged.
She ground her hips against him—just enough to make him shudder. He tried to move, to thrust up into her, but she held him still.
"You're mine tonight," she said.
He nodded.
And then she began to ride—not with reckless abandon, but with precision. Every roll of her hips calculated, every moan drawn from his throat like a prize. Damon's head fell back, his control breaking inch by inch.
She leaned in. "Tell me something true."
His breath hitched. "I came here... because I want to betray the Demon King."
Aiko froze mid-motion.
Damon looked up at her, eyes burning not with lust—but with hatred.
"He destroyed my brothers. He uses our kind like currency. If you're the key to ending him... I'll serve you."
Aiko's system pulsed again.
[==== SYSTEM NOTICE ====]
SYNC COMPLETE
Target: Damon, Incubus Commander
New Skill Gained: Aphroditic Aura – Passive field now active.
Effect: All humanoid males within 10m radius experience increased arousal, lowered resistance.
Emotional Imprint: Strong. Subject now views user as potential savior and mate.
Caution: Intensity of aura may escalate during stress or combat.
[===========================]
Aiko's breath came fast. Damon clutched her hips as his climax hit, his body trembling beneath hers. She followed, body spasming in waves of pleasure that felt... not just physical, but transcendent.
As she collapsed against his chest, the weight of what she'd just done settled on her.
She hadn't just synced with a powerful incubus.
She'd made her first true ally.
---
Later, wrapped in Damon's discarded cloak, she walked back toward the camp.
Kael was waiting.
He looked up as she approached, his face unreadable. His gaze flicked to the faint shimmer of aura surrounding her—the unmistakable aftermath of a Sync.
"You're glowing," he said flatly.
"Jealous?" she teased.
"No," he lied.
"Good," she said. "Because he's not a lover. He's an asset."
Kael stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "You're changing."
"I have to," she replied. "If I want to survive. If I want to win."
A long silence stretched between them.
Then Kael said, "What did you get from him?"
"Aphroditic Aura," she replied. "It'll make enemies easier to distract. Allies... easier to seduce."
Kael's jaw clenched. "Useful."
"I thought so too."
They stood there in the dark, the unspoken tension thick around them. Aiko's body still hummed with aftershocks, her aura stirring Kael despite his iron control.
He stepped back. "You should rest."
"You too," she said.
She walked into her tent, her mind racing.
She was changing, yes. But into what?
And how long could she keep pretending that it didn't feel... good?
That it wasn't awakening something in her she never knew existed?
Tomorrow, they'd reach the Bastion of Flesh—a cursed fortress where the Demon King's harem of failed Heroines was imprisoned.
And if Aiko failed to resist her own urges there...
The system would make her next Sync unavoidable.