Kaiser woke with a start.
His lungs dragged in air like it owed him something, stale and damp. Stone pressed against his back, rough and cold. He blinked, trying to clear the fog from his eyes, but the system screen was gone. No blue glow. No boot-up sequence. Just a cave, lit by faint light from somewhere beyond his line of sight.
And heat.
Not from fire, but from skin.
His eyes adjusted, and then he saw her.
Close. Too close. Her body was half-draped over his, warmth sinking into his side like a second skin. Smooth skin, the scent of sweat and something floral in the air. His breath caught as his gaze lifted, past the line of a throat, to a face watching him like he might vanish.
Wide eyes, irises a soft violet. Framed by long, dark hair that curled over her shoulders and down her back. She froze the moment she realized he was awake, and pulled back in a quick, startled motion.
She wore only a pair of black undergarments, clinging snugly to her hips. The rest of her was bare, her skin pale, a slight sheen of sweat catching the light. It looked like she'd been running… or something more. But what drew his eyes most wasn't her body, it was the mark. Just above her navel, a faintly glowing symbol shimmered, etched into her skin, pulsing with an unnatural light.
"Are you alright?" she asked. Her voice was soft, careful. Like she was talking to a ghost.
Kaiser didn't answer. His mind was still catching up. This was some reincarnation bullshit, wasn't it?
He looked down at his hands. Wrong. Too slim. Not scarred enough. Not even his skin tone. He wasn't in his own body. And this girl, Marceline? Whoever she was, had been lying half on top of him like he was a body pillow. What the hell kind of world did he land in?
He dropped back onto the stone, staring up at the uneven ceiling. A drop of water plinked somewhere deep inside the cave. His ribs ached, phantom pain from a death he hadn't processed yet. Caine. The shot. The cold. All of it.
She leaned toward him again. "Are you… sure you're alright? You've been out for a while."
"Name?" he asked, voice hoarse.
She blinked. "Marceline."
"Of course it is," he muttered, pushing himself up onto his elbows. His tone was sharp, but not angry. Just tired. Confused. "Nice to meet you, Marceline. I guess."
He scanned his surroundings. Jagged stone walls closed in around him, damp and uneven. The ceiling hung low, dripping with condensation. There was no furniture, no sign of life. Just rock. A narrow crack in the cave wall let in a sliver of light. The air was thick with the scent of wet moss and something metallic. Blood?
Then he saw it.
Floating just a few feet away. A translucent screen hovering above the stone floor. Pale blue text flickered on its surface. Marceline didn't react to it, probably couldn't see it.
Fulfill the target's desire to unlock the full program.
Kaiser narrowed his eyes. "Of course. A system..."
He looked back at her.
"You're a succubus," he said flatly.
She stiffened, just slightly. "Excuse me?"
"Tattoo. Eyes. Bare skin. Everything fits." He wasn't being accusatory. Just clinical.
Marceline sat back on her heels and folded her arms across her body, not shy, just cautious. "I'm not what your kind calls a succubus. That's… reductive. I'm a desire-bound."
Kaiser snorted. "So, yeah. Succubus."
Silence hung in the air between them, heavy with what hadn't been said. Marceline's expression shifted slightly, like she was fighting between being defensive and simply tired of explaining herself.
He sat up fully, testing the limits of this new body. Lighter than he was used to. Flexible. No pain. No wounds. Whoever he was now, the guy wasn't in bad shape.
"So," he said, glancing at her again, "what the hell is this place?"
Marceline looked to the side. "A trial ground. You were sent to slay me. That's what they told you I guess."
He frowned. "Did I get close?"
She shrugged. "You tripped before we even touched. Hit your head on a rock. I thought you were dead until your body started glowing."
He stared at her. "So… I was supposed to kill you, and instead I faceplanted into a magical nap?"
"That's about right."
Kaiser looked at the system screen again. Still glowing.
Desire.
He tapped a finger against his thigh, thinking.
"I need to ask you something," he said.
Marceline nodded slowly. "Okay."
"What's your desire? Right now."
She tilted her head. A few strands of hair fell over her face. She brushed them back with one hand, exposing her bare shoulder again. The movement wasn't seductive, it was human. Tired.
"To get out of here," she said quietly.
That surprised him. Not riches. Not power. Not even vengeance.
"Simple," he muttered.
"Simple doesn't mean easy."
Kaiser stood. The tunic he wore was rough linen, barely decent. Still, he pulled it off and offered it to her. "Here. You're distracting."
She accepted it with a dry smile and pulled it on over her head. It hung loose on her frame, slipping off one shoulder.
"You're not like the others they sent," she said.
"Yeah? What were they like?"
"Loud. Angry. Scared of me, even while they charged. You're… not."
"I've seen worse."
He looked at her again. Not with lust, but with curiosity. This girl wasn't trembling. She wasn't begging. She was grounded. Sharp-eyed. Dangerous, maybe, but calm. Not a threat. Not yet at least.
"What do you know about me?" he asked.
Marceline gave him a side glance. "That you're the son of a broke noble. Thrown into the system as a last-ditch gamble to earn your family status. They said you were arrogant. Difficult to control."
He raised a brow. "That it?"
She hesitated. "They also said you'd probably fail."
He smirked. "They got that part right."
Silence stretched again. Not uncomfortable, just… cautious. Like neither of them knew which way this was going to tilt yet.
"You said your desire was to leave," he said. "Then help me understand where the hell we are."
"It is... a cave"
He nodded. "Well... I expected more.
His jaw tightened. The screen behind them flickered again. Still waiting.
Fulfill the target's desire to unlock the full program.
He turned to her. "You said the others came to kill you. Did you ever kill one back?"
"No."
"Why?"
Marceline looked up at him, face unreadable. "Because I didn't want to become what they thought I was."
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then, finally: "You had a clean shot at me while I was out. Could've finished the job."
"I know."
"Why didn't you?"
"It's complicated."
He met her eyes. The air between them shifted. Still no heat, not yet. Just weight. Possibility.
Kaiser exhaled and looked back at the cave. "Alright then. Let's get out of here."