Nine's embrace tightened, his arms wrapped around Aya as if anchoring her in place. His body was rigid, muscles coiled with an unspoken strain she could feel even through his robe. The tension in him was suffocating, pressing against her like an unseen force.
Aya frowned, her instincts flaring. "...Do you know something?"
Nine exhaled sharply through his nose. "I'm already finding a way."
Her unease deepened. His words carried weight—too heavy, too calculated. Aya's fingers curled against his chest, grasping the fabric of his robe. Silence stretched between them like a taut string, and she could feel something slipping just beyond her reach.
She pulled back, her hands fumbling against his chest, trying to see his face. "Nine, what are you talking about?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he caught her wrist and guided her hand to his chest, pressing her palm firmly against him.
Thump
A heartbeat.
But it wasn't just the steady, powerful rhythm beneath her fingers—it was something more. A current surged into her, a force that was neither physical nor entirely spiritual, and it struck her with such intensity that her breath caught.
The sensation coiled deep inside her, curling through her veins like wildfire, twisting through her ribs, her spine—something primal, something alive. It wasn't warmth or mere energy. It was consuming. It was him.
Aya gasped, wrenching her hand away as if burned. But the sensation didn't leave. It remained within her, echoing, spreading like ink through water.
Her wide eyes snapped up to Nine's face. He didn't flinch. He simply caught her wrist again, his grip firm yet careful. He straightened her robe with the ease of a man who had done so countless times before.
"It's the essence," he said, his voice quieter now. "It split with you."
Aya's lips parted slightly, disbelief flickering across her face. She searched his eyes for any trace of deception, any hint that this was some cruel joke. But Nine's solemnity didn't waver.
"I'm looking for a way, Aya," he continued, reaching for her.
She took a step back before he could pull her close, her movements restless, like a caged animal sensing danger. Her breath came faster now, uneven.
"I... I don't know, Nine," she whispered, voice trembling. "I want to be by your side. I want to be with you as you carve your visions. But—but not like this. This is not... this is not—" Her hands clutched at her abdomen, her fingers pressing into the fabric. "It will consume me. You. Maybe even the child I am carrying."
A shudder ran through her. The weight of something vast, something beyond her understanding, pressed against her from all sides, suffocating, inevitable.
Nine reached for her hands again. This time, he didn't let her pull away. He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear.
"Aya..."
Her body trembled, a sob breaking free from her lips. Her fingers twisted into his hair, gripping him as if he were the only solid thing left in her world. "I don't want it, Nine."
"I know," he murmured. "That's why I wanted to fix it first. I wanted to tell you after I succeeded."
"But you don't even know if you can fix it!" Her voice cracked, raw with frustration. "This isn't something you can just—why?! Why did it even go into me?!"
Nine's grip tightened slightly.
Because Aya was his desire itself.
The essence had taken her as its vessel. Not by accident. Not by coincidence.
Because she was his longing made flesh.
Nine was Aya. Aya was Nine.
Two bodies. One soul.
His voice was quiet but certain. "We are one."
Aya's breath hitched.
The strange, unexplainable moments—the peculiar emotions, the whispers of his thoughts, the pull that felt like gravity—it all suddenly made sense.
Nine rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes unreadable. "From what I've figured out so far, you sustain me. You're my source, and I'm the current. When the sin inside me becomes unstable, only you can suppress it. And when you're lacking, you need me."
Aya blinked. Then, flatly, "...You mean, we have to have sex every now and then?"
Nine chuckled, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. "If you don't want to, I'll control myself."
Aya scoffed, wiping at her tear-streaked cheeks. "Bastard. You never control yourself."
Nine smirked, tilting his head, his forehead almost brushing hers. "That's because you want it."
"No." Aya crossed her arms. "That's just the essence."
Nine's grin widened, a glint of mischief sparking in his eyes. "What?" His voice dipped lower. "You always enjoy it even without—"
Aya's fingers twisted into his hair again—this time yanking hard.
"Shut up," she hissed, shoving him away. She turned on her heel, storming off, swiping at her face.
Nine followed with an amused glint in his eyes. "I'll find a way, okay?"
Aya exhaled harshly. "It's impossible, Nine. I just need to learn how to control it."
He arched a brow. "You gave up quickly."
"Because I can't do anything about it! AHHHH!!!" Aya suddenly shrieked. Frustration exploded from her, raw and unrestrained. Her fists clenched—and swung.
BOOM
Nine's body lurched backward for just a foot, his feet skidding against the dirt. Dust kicked up from the impact, and when it cleared, a faint crater marked the ground where he had once stood.
Nine blinked.
Aya's eyes widened.
She had just moved a demon lord.
Nine dusted himself off and clapped, the slow, deliberate sound carrying both amusement and pride. "Now that's my Aya."
Aya didn't respond. She stared at her hands, the essence within her throbbing.
"..." her voice barely a whisper. "...Am I a lord now?"
Nine lifted a shoulder. "Well... yeah? You could say that. The essence I wield is inside you."
Before she could react, Nine lifted her effortlessly into his arms. She didn't resist. She barely even moved, her mind reeling, her body limp like a doll in his grasp.
"You could use it as self-defense for now," Nine continued as he strode back toward the palace. "A lord already knows about you and Seven. I can't keep you hidden now."
Aya's gaze flickered. "...Who?"
"The Sin of Pride. His name's Luhan. He said he's seen you before."
Aya frowned, shaking her head. "I don't know him."
Nine hummed, thoughts clicking into place. "If he knows about our family, that means he must've found out when Seven was born. Which means... the western regions."
His arms tightened slightly. "Was he already aware of me inheriting Lust...? No. That doesn't make sense. The essence stays undetectable until it inhabits a person."
Nine held Aya closer. "Unless he has something under his sleeve."
Before he could sink deeper into thought, Aya groaned and buried her face in his chest.
"Why does it have to be Lust?!" she wailed, smacking him.
A shockwave rippled through his body. Nine remained completely unfazed.
"I don't want it either," he muttered. "I was aiming for Greed or Pride."
Aya sniffled. "I hate you."
Nine stopped.
Despite her words, she was warm against him. Aya wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms tight around his neck. She trembled slightly.
He sighed, rubbing a hand down her back as he offered her comfort. "...I love you, Aya."
His voice was soft. Absolute.
Aya's fingers clutched his robe.
Nine held her thigh, the other arm wrapping on her waist to support her.
Whatever happened next—whatever burden they carried—they would carry it together.