Nulka was dying. I didn't need medical training to see it—the way her breathing had become increasingly shallow, the pale undertones creeping through her green skin, the way her golden eyes were losing their focus. Whatever internal injuries she'd sustained during her escape from the "Guardians of Nature" were beyond what basic first aid could handle.
She's not going to make it back to her people at this rate, I realized, watching her struggle to remain upright. And if she dies, my carefully planned alliance dies with her.
That's when the system decided to be helpful again, flooding my vision with medical analysis that made my stomach clench with urgency:
[CRITICAL MEDICAL ASSESSMENT][SUBJECT: NULKA - SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 12% WITHOUT INTERVENTION][INTERNAL HEMORRHAGING: SEVERE][BLOOD LOSS: APPROACHING FATAL THRESHOLD][MAGICAL EXHAUSTION: COMPLETE MANA DEPLETION][RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE ESSENCE TRANSFER REQUIRED]
[SOLUTION AVAILABLE: HOST BLOOD CONTAINS ENHANCED HEALING PROPERTIES][TRANSFER METHOD: BODILY FLUID CONTACT - SALIVA EXCHANGE OPTIMAL][SECONDARY REQUIREMENT: NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT][WARNING: ESSENCE EXCHANGE WILL ENABLE PARTIAL INVENTORY ACCESS]
I stared at the notification for a long moment, my brain struggling to process what the system was suggesting. "You want me to... kiss her? To save her life?"
[INTIMATE CONTACT ENABLES ESSENCE EXTRACTION][INVENTORY ACCESSIBILITY: FOOD SUPPLIES AVAILABLE UPON ESSENCE RESONANCE][CURRENT STORED RATIONS: 500 RAMEN PACKETS, 1000 WATER BOTTLES]
"Five hundred packets?" I blurted out loud, causing Nulka to look at me with confused concern. "How the hell did I accumulate that much food?"
[AUTOMATIC NUTRITION COMPENSATION DURING FORGE TRIALS][MEALS SKIPPED DURING DIVINE HAMMER CREATION: 847][SYSTEM MAINTAINED CALORIC STOCKPILE FOR SURVIVAL SCENARIOS]
Of course it did, I thought with a mixture of appreciation and exasperation. The cosmic torture device that passes for my operating system was apparently looking out for my nutritional needs while I was hammering away at impossible metals for a thousand years.
But that was a problem for later analysis. Right now, I had a dying orc and a medical solution that was going to require some very careful explanation.
"Nulka," I said, moving closer to where she sat propped against a crystal formation. "I can heal you, but the method is... unconventional."
Her golden eyes focused on me with obvious effort. "What kind of healing? Pink-skins don't know healing magic."
Here goes nothing, I thought, preparing to deliver what was probably going to be the most awkward medical explanation in interdimensional history.
"My blood has enhanced healing properties," I said, trying to maintain a clinical tone. "But for it to be effective, I need to transfer it through... direct fluid contact. Specifically, saliva exchange."
She blinked at me slowly, staring with obvious confusion. "What are you saying? I don't understand those words."
I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment. "I... uh..." I cleared my throat, trying to find simpler words. "My blood can heal you. But I need to... to put my mouth on your mouth. Share spit. That's how the healing gets from me to you."
"You want to kiss me? For healing?" she asked, finally understanding.
"It's purely for restoration," I said quickly, feeling heat rise in my cheeks. "Think of it as emergency healing arts that happen to require intimate contact. Like... sharing breath to transfer life force, but with healing properties flowing between us."
That was possibly the worst healing explanation in the history of any world, I thought, cringing internally at my own awkwardness.
But Nulka was studying me with an expression I couldn't quite read. "Our tribe knows about touching like that," she said carefully. "We need it because of our problems. But between an orc and a pink-skin..." She trailed off, clearly wrestling with cultural implications I didn't fully understand.
"Problems?" I asked, genuinely curious despite the urgency of the situation.
A bitter smile crossed her features. "No males in our tribe, pink-skin. Our males like your females better, so they leave us alone. We have to find other ways to stay strong."
An all-female orc tribe, I realized, the implications hitting me like a brick wall. That explains the cultural attitudes and probably creates some very interesting social dynamics.
"Then you understand that this is about survival," I said, moving closer to her. "Nothing more complicated than necessary medical intervention."
She nodded slowly. "I'm dying anyway. If your magic needs kissing, then I'll do it. But..." Her eyes met mine with obvious wariness. "Kissing between our peoples means a lot. Even for healing."
Significant how? I wondered, but pushed the question aside. Whatever cultural complications might arise, they were preferable to watching her die from her wounds.
I knelt beside her, close enough to catch that unique scent that seemed to follow her, something like warm spices and clean earth. "Are you ready?"
She nodded, closing her eyes and tilting her face toward mine with the resigned trust of someone who'd run out of alternatives.
The moment our lips met, everything changed.
It wasn't supposed to be anything more than a healing ritual, transferring restorative properties through shared breath while trying not to think about the cultural implications. But the instant our mouths connected, something awakened in my blood that I'd never experienced before.
[LUST BLOODLINE ACTIVATION DETECTED]
[ESSENCE RESONANCE: OPTIMAL]
[HEALING TRANSFER: INITIATED]
[WARNING: BLOODLINE RESPONSE BEYOND NORMAL PARAMETERS]
Heat surged through my body, not the steady, obedient warmth of forge magic but something wild, untamed, and feral. It crashed through my nerves like a storm, each pulse a shockwave of sensation that blurred the line between power and pleasure. My control shattered as the essence transfer took hold, not like a spell but like a claiming.
Nulka's body arched beneath me, her skin fevered where our chests pressed together, our breath mingling. The energy I pushed into her didn't just heal, it ignited. I could feel her wounds sealing, yes, but more than that... she was awakening, blooming under my touch like something starved finally fed.
"Rhh... Hng," she gasped, her voice a hoarse whisper full of confusion and hunger. Her hands, gods, her hands, clawed into my shoulders, pulling me closer with surprising force for someone who'd been dying moments ago.
My lips were still locked on hers. What started as a focused conduit for mana had twisted into something darker, deeper. A desperate kiss, a soul-binding exchange of breath and desire. Her tongue moved against mine, eager, instinctual. She didn't understand what this was, but her body knew.
And mine... mine betrayed me.