After seeing "Seele" off, I faced the other person.
The Herrscher of the End.
She bore many similarities with Kiana. She did not turn out to be as dramatic as expected. She accepted her "defeat" silently.
"Let's have a proper talk."
"..."
She did not say anything, as if waiting for my words to come.
"Does the Cocoon of Finality have a hold over you?"
"No. The Sea of Quanta envelops the world. Recreating 'me' based on my real self's information is but a trifle." She paused as her eyes flickered. "This world is ultimately flawed. It extends to its creations, including I."
I focused on the mark on her soul. The Herrscher's mind was damaged to the extreme using our three-fold Divine Transformation Realm attacks. The gap it created allowed for her to be marked on body, mind, and soul. I remained wary when it came to this aspect, but not much.
"What are your thoughts about me?"
I asked the most important question.
"I like you."
"???"
The expression on my face became hard to describe.
What the fuck???
"I am merely a part of the Cocoon. Its avatar, as you may call it. I am the final test it has placed for humanity. Defeating me will warrant its embrace, and in turn, affection."
"..."
…
Five minutes later, my silence ended.
"That's all for now. I will call you once we need your strength."
She nodded and disappeared. I stared blankly at the endless blue sky. Kiana, Sirin, Seele, Veliona, and now, this Herrscher…
There's also my other partners in the real world. There are no sparks yet, though I have a strong foreboding that I will face their affection someday. It is no longer based on intuition, but also of my status as a fourth grade diviner.
Once that day comes…
What should I do?
*****
Kiana's hurried breathing filled my ears. Her smooth and perfect back contained a mix of hickeys and saliva, all coming from me. My hands pressed upon her fragile-looking waist as my rhythmic thrusts ensued.
No matter how much we did it, her insides sent my mind to a state of bliss. Kiana's situation does not need to be explained further.
Her toes stepped upon my feet. They curled up every time her body trembled in pleasure.
Soon, a major eruption occurred. My cum filled her insides to the brim.
Her entire body softened. She surrendered herself to the softness of the mattress, not minding her messy hair.
"Rest… Let me…"
Despite her words, her pussy seemed reluctant. Her inner folds clung tightly to my rod.
"You asked for the slave mark and received it. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for you to act like this?"
"..!"
My chaotic desires surged forth. My words triggered something in Kiana. Her affection grew terribly stronger. I wasn't used to speaking like that, but if it pleases her, I have no qualms in doing so.
I turned Kiana over, exposing her front to my sight. We remained connected during the process, causing her feet to curl up and twitch.
I held her ankle in my right hand. The sight of her feet caused some memories to resurface.
"You used to kick me with these during your sleep."
"Dirty…"
I acted as if I heard nothing. The tip of my tongue touched her soles. I started licking it back and forth.
"Hee..! It's ticklish!"
Her insides responded by squeezing my dick harder. A wave of liquid spilled out of her, staining the bedsheets further.
From her soles, then to her toes…
I did not leave any one of them. The combo of a tantalizing feet and immortal cultivator privileges (i.e., cleanliness) awakened a lot of things in me.
I started thrusting while licking her exquisite feet. The ticklish sensation caused Kiana to come several more times. Her breathing became heavier.
After unleashing another weave of my cum, she lost consciousness.
The sensory amplifier of the slave mark has a higher upper limit than the typical auxiliary techniques. Amplifying one's senses by ten times is barely manageable.
But a thousand times?
Even Kiana, a bonafide late stage Golden Core physical cultivator, will end up weak on her knees.
Worse, we did it when we were already a week deep into our usual cultivation sessions. It only took two rounds for her to lose consciousness.
I started to clean the aftermath. I also did the post-dual cultivation treatment for Kiana—massages and the likes. I voluntarily canceled the [Moon Picking Yin Manual] cast on her.
Once it was finished, she clung onto my body like an octopus.
My thoughts drifted.
The Herrscher of the End…
She is a 'fake' Divine Transformation Realm. Nonetheless, her [Innate Yin] must be strong enough to be able to propel me to the Nascent Soul Realm.
That was the realm where one's mind spans far beyond that of planets.
A Golden Core Realm reaches 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 kilometers for early, middle, late, and peak stages, respectively.
A Nascent Soul Realm has an even absurd range of five hundred million, twenty-five billion, five hundred billion, and five trillion kilometers for the respective stages.
Each tenfold increase shows the difference of the Golden Core Realm from its lower realms. The increment becomes even bigger in the Nascent Soul Realm, and so does in the other realms.
The higher the realm, the more absurd their power becomes. True cultivators gain power in this way.
They wouldn't be like the Cocoon of Finality, reaching Void Refinement Realm (suspected) in authority but being stuck at one solar system.
If I am unprincipled, I could have taken Sirin's [Innate Yin]. The same goes to Veliona. Even the Herrscher of the End wouldn't be spared. Creation qi makes it possible to raise one's realm instantaneously without any drawbacks. This way, I can reach the Nascent Soul Realm in one go.
But…
I looked at the Tuna beside me.
I am wronging her by choosing the path of harem. I cannot lie to myself. I am greedy enough to want a "good ending" for everyone.
...
Forget about this [Innate Yin]. I can still reach the Nascent Soul Realm with my current means. I checked at my progress so far.
{Body: Peak Golden Core (100%)}
{Qi: Peak Golden Core (85%)}
{Mind: Peak Golden Core (72%)}
The fight with the Herrscher of the End brought a lot of improvements. My qi realm rose up mainly because of my [Innate Sword Soul]. My mind realm, on the other hand, got the leftovers of my Divine Transformation Realm attack. I spent ten thousand years of my lifespan all at once, granting me some 'leftovers' that raised it to a minor realm.
It is the only way of spending a lifespan for cultivation. Every other method results in a flaw or a huge drawback. I also need to recover for years before being able to gamble with my lifespan again.
The same thing happened to Kiana, Veliona, and Sirin. They gave me enough Tao Gifts to raise my body realm to completion. It is precisely why I thought of taking [Innate Yin] to complete my Golden Core cultivation.
The Herrscher of the End could break down this Bubble World's barrier alone. All that's left is my order. I can put an end to Seele's endless time loops. Although, it will cost us "time".
There is still a lot of time left before Kevin's Project STIGMA—three more years in terms of this Bubble World's time.
With those three more years, there is a lot of preparation that can be done. We decided to let this Bubble World be by taking advantage of the time dilution it offers.
Seele suggested this herself. She reasoned that the time could be put to good use. Moreover, whenever she connects with Veliona, her time flow to the Bubble World reaches 1:1. She could handle it with more ease, or so she says.
I underestimated her three hundred years of maturity.
To this, she asked for some "compensation" when she returned.
I knew exactly what kind of "compensation" she talked about.
'She won't be worse than Kiana, no..?'
*****
A/N: Bonus Chapter.