Hurried footsteps tapped against the stone street, echoing his impatience.
Ashen moved quickly through the quiet lanes, irritation gnawing at him for not being able to get there faster. Running was out of the question; he'd already drawn more attention than he wanted.
Finally, the mansion came into view.
"Sup, Rob," he greeted the guard with a wave, not slowing down.
"Hey, Mr. Ash, you're early today, what a surprise," the guard replied, grinning.
"Yeah, something urgent came up. I'll catch you later, alright?"
"Sure thing!"
He crossed the garden, boots brushing against the dew-slick grass until he reached the front door. A few knocks later, it opened to a familiar face.
"Hey, Clara. I'm in a hurry. Where is she?"
"Hello, Mr. Hart. The lady is still in her study. She hasn't left since your last visit," Clara said, her polite tone tinged with concern.
"Got it. Thanks." He gave a quick nod and headed down the now-familiar path.
A hallway and a staircase later, he stood before the study door. Without hesitation, he pushed it open. She'd already registered him as co-admin on the security pass, which meant he could enter any room without worrying about the mansion's rather fatal defense system.
The moment he stepped inside, he was greeted by the sight of Alice completely absorbed in her work.
Sweat glistened on her forehead, her clothes clinging lightly to her skin as her fingers danced around a floating, three-dimensional projection of what looked like a drone, though its winged frame resembled a bird more than a machine.
She didn't notice him until he was only a few steps away.
When she did, she flinched slightly, then steadied her breathing, smoothing the sharp focus from her expression.
"You're back," she said, voice calm, almost indifferent.
"I am." He nodded, matching her tone.
"Surprisingly early. Did something happen?"
"Something did," he replied slowly. "Or rather, I learned something."
Her brow arched. "And what exactly did you learn that made you storm in here like this?"
"That magical thing you mentioned you were looking for… I found out what it is." His gaze locked with hers.
For a split second, a blush rushed to Alice's cheeks before she forced her composure back in place. "So? It's not exactly a secret. Why? Do you have a problem with it?"
"Well, yes. I have several problems with it." He tried to sound stern, but the fondness almost overflowing from his eyes made the task difficult.
"You've exposed yourself to every human faction, and maybe even to foreign races, all for a stupid Manaweave that might still elude you, even with all this effort and risk." He tried scolding, but the voice was too soft for it to be effective.
"Do you realize how many people would want to kill you out of sheer envy? The cults alone—some of those lunatics will do it just for the heck of it! All because of m—"
"Shut up." Alice cut him off before he could finish.
Her face flushed deeper. She didn't want to hear him say why she'd taken those risks, especially not from his lips.
Taking two steps forward, she glared, but the embarrassment clouded it, only making her appear cute instead.
"You're always the logical one, aren't you? Acting like you know better about my business. Did you forget that I broke up with you, you—you cheater!"
For a moment, silence filled the study, broken only by Alice's uneven breaths that made her chest rise and fall.
Ashen eyed the space between them—or the lack of it—then said, "You're very close."
"Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?" she asked back, a sneer appearing on her pretty face.
"No," he shook his head. "In fact, let's get closer."
He took half a step, closing the remaining space between them, making her large breasts press against his chest and their lips almost brush, since their faces were now a mere inch apart.
"That's better," Ashen said, and as flustered as Alice appeared, she wasn't planning to back out, since being this close was simply too comfortable for her, even if she was mad at him.
Gold met gold, sparks seeming to leap between their gazes… until Alice involuntarily lowered hers to his lips.
Ashen took it as his cue and smashed his lips against hers.
"Mmhnn!"
The kiss soon devolved into a passionate frenzy.
His hands started wandering around, touching and grabbing flesh, as if he wanted to mark every part of her, while she ran one hand through his hair and another to his back, pressing him to herself as tightly as she could.
Smack!
"Mmm!"
Smack—Smooch—
He entered her mouth with his tongue, and she greeted him with hers, devolving the kiss into a tango of tongues and saliva.
After minutes that felt like seconds, Alice pulled back slightly. "Fuck me. Now!" she ordered, panting with saliva running down her chin.
Ashen merely smirked and grabbed a fistful of her hair, lightly pulling to expose her slender neck.
"Hn!!"
He went down once more, this time less intensely and more softly, contrasting with the firm grip on her hair, and sensually licked her chin clean, then kept going down, kissing her neck, her shoulder blades, to the top of her exposed, large breasts.
"Hmm~ Yes, ♡ kiss me more ♡"
Kiss~
"Touch my body more~"
Lick~
"Ah baby~ I like that ♡"
Smack–!
"Yes! More!!"
The spank on her pert derriere made Alice's knees weak, causing Ashen to hug her, allowing her to lean on him completely.
"You naughty, naughty girl~" he whispered teasingly in her reddening ear.
She clutched onto his shirt and muttered after a long, seductive sigh, "…Please just do it already~"
Ashen opened his lips, planning to keep teasing, but a rumbling vibration shook the core of his soul, making him instantly freeze.
Alice felt his muscles clench and lifted her face, confused. What greeted her was the subtle glow in his eyes, getting more and more intense until she had to close her eyes from the sheer luminosity.
Ashen didn't know what was happening, so he instinctively hugged his lover tight and waited.
A resonating voice, seemingly older than time itself, echoed in his head.
Behold—
And with it, everything turned white, and Ashen only felt himself freely diving forward.
Next, as if it were mere specks of dust, the enormous compressions of the two points of mana left behind by the Whisp instantly drained from his retinas.
The only thing he could do was rotate Alice in his embrace to make himself the first obstacle to whatever they'd land on, no matter how futile it was.
Their free dive didn't last more than a few seconds before it felt like they passed some kind of barrier, followed by instant stillness. But what truly terrified him was the sudden disappearance of the woman in his arms.
"Alice!" He opened his eyes and stood up.
"Huh?" He looked around only to find himself among a bunch of soldiers reminiscent of his time in the Bloodwall camp.
"What's up with the guy?"
"Hey, Ash, you finally snapped, huh?"
"No, who is Alice anyway? Maybe his mom?"
The soldiers around him laughed and joked at his sudden shouting, but Ashen's eyes drifted to something that was not supposed to be there.
A roaring lion emblem, stitched on every armor of every man.
'That emblem is supposed to belong to the Pride army, which has been wiped out for two centuries now. Why am I seeing it here? Is Liminal Dreamer playing tricks on me?'
"Who calls their mom by her name, asshole? I'm willing to bet it's a fox's name."
"Buddy, you have no idea about youth these days. They can be quite insolent to their parents, but yes, he most probably has been seduced by a tailed fox."
"Hey, Ash, is it true? How many tails did she have? If it's more than three, you're screwed, man!"
'Foxes? Tails? Wait… Are these guys actually talking about the nine-tailed fox race? But weren't they extinct…?'
Dread started creeping in as he realized that this was not a mere illusion. There was no way it could be this elaborate.
'Where the fuck am I? No… When the fuck am I…?'