My eye twitched. No! Fucking…! What was that?!
The glow suddenly redoubled in strength. Then tripled. And with it came heat. Then a lot of heat. I had let myself waver, and now I was starting to lose it.
Whatever. Just keep going! You’re almost there!
“You!”
Tears gathered in my eyes in a futile attempt to shield them, and what was left of my beard began to curl and smoke from the growing furnace. The pain was threatening to overwhelm me.
But I would not be defeated! I could not err!
“Are!”
I sucked the blistering air into my lungs and screamed into the light, trying to push it back with the force of my voice alone.
“Nothing!”
Abruptly, there came a sound like the side of a volcano imploding. Then, the light burst forth, lifting me from my feet, but before I could fall, a wind blasted me from behind. For a handful of seconds, the two competing forces surged around me in a maelstrom of chaos, suspending me in perfect equilibrium between them.
I wanted to weep. To howl. To pull at my hair and curl into a gibbering ball.
But I had been here before. I had seen the face of madness. A paltry moment of violent, untamed bedlam could no longer phase me.
Something was happening. Something not… exactly… an explosion. And that was all I needed to know.
I had achieved a true, if almost certainly flawed, magic. It hurt like a bitch, but I had not been blown into a million pieces. So I weathered the consequences stoically.
Soon enough, it was over. The light vanished. The wind died. And I collapsed. All was again quiet save for the sounds of my own trembling breaths.
I was on the brink, I knew. Whatever I had just done, it had taken everything I had left to accomplish. The edges of my peripherals were starting to fade to black. I was done.
But then I felt soft and deliciously cool hands cup my blistered cheeks. Slowly, my head was lifted up.
And there she was. My Arx. Surrounded by an angelic corona of blue light. She was free. I had done it.
My overtaxed and weary heart summoned what little strength it had left to flutter with joy. However, there was something in her eyes. A pain. A terrible longing.
“Hungry.”
The whispered word held the promise of violence. As animalistic as it was certain. Even so, I could not help but to smirk.
“You, too, huh?” I coughed out. Then, I reached up a trembling hand to pat her cheek. “S-sorry about that. It took me… so long… to find you again.”
For a moment, her eyebrows bunched together in confusion and she gave me a searching look. But then she seemed to dismiss her concerns.
“Hungry,” she said again. Gently, she snagged my thumb between her teeth and began to suckle it. A low moan rumbled out of her throat. “Want. Feel again. Yours. Want feel again yours.”
I smiled indulgently. Lilim were going to lilim.
“I’d… l-like that… sweetie. I really would, but…” My eyes unfocused for a moment, and I had to catch myself. “I think… I think I need to rest.”
“No. No!” She shook me lightly. And for some reason, the ground below me shook with it. “Yours. Make feel again! I yours.”
I nodded weakly despite not quite understanding what she was getting at. “Yes. Yes, you’re mine. Of course, you are.”
Instantly, she pressed her nose up against my cheek and sucked in a long and rapturous breath. She held it there for a long few seconds before reluctantly allowing it to escape again.
“More…”
Her tongue flicked out and seductively ran up the side of my jaw. For some reason, it felt heavenly against my burns. Almost like a balm. The sensation set my eyes to fluttering.
“More!” she whined again, only just distracting me from the inevitable siren call of slumber. When I did not respond, she snatched up my hand and urgently pressed it against her full bosom. “Make feel again!”
The pillowy softness of it felt glorious even through her loose tunic. The twine she had been using to cinch it to her body was missing, I noted vaguely. However, even such a brazen act as that could not stir me to life.
“I…”
My head lolled back. But before I could pass out completely, that vibration came again. I had felt it for sure that time.
“Donum!” Lynrria’s voice echoed out of the archway, approaching rapidly.
Arx’s head jerked up. Her expression instantly became guarded, and she protectively gathered me to her chest like a mother clutching her infant.
“Donum, you need to hurry! It’s almost…”
Hurry? What…? It seemed unfathomable to me that she had not at least heard the aftermath of that spell, but I was in no position to ask. And whatever else Lynnria had been about to say was forgotten the moment she saw us.
I assumed. I could not turn to look. Even if Arx’s arms had not been encircling me like a vice, I barely had the strength to raise an arm.
For a few moments, all I could hear were the girl’s panting breaths.
“Y-you… He did it. I—I can’t believe…” Lynnria swallowed, and a fearful choking noise escaped her throat. “Is… is he alive?”
Arx took half a step back at the question, dragging me with her. She replied with a sharp and punctuated hiss.
It would seem my lilim was a little too hungry yet for anything approaching polite conversation, so I made the effort to at least twitch my fingers a little to let her know I was still amongst the living. For the moment.
She strangled back a gasp on seeing it, and I heard a couple of her steps approaching. “What’s wrong with him? Is he… is he okay? Did you hurt him?!”
Arx hissed again, much more aggressively. “Mine!”
Oh, that’s just great. Very helpful, Arx.
I had hoped I would at least have the capacity to stand—or in fact, speak—during this initial confrontation, but it seemed the stars were not aligned for me today. The two of them would just have to work it out for themselves. I wished Lynnria luck.
However, before she could decide how to respond, all three of us picked up the rumbling, this time accompanied by a bit of dust settling into our eyes.
“That… doesn’t sound like the golem,” Lynnria said ominously.
Arx perked up at that word. Whatever her agenda, it placed a distant second to immanent threats. “Golem?”
Lynnria was silent for a moment, doubtlessly trying to decide what to do about the wild and contentious woman clutching at my all-but-unconscious body. However, as Arx had at least shown the capacity for reason, she decided to give diplomacy one last shot.
While Lynnria briefly explained our situation and the approaching threat, I struggled to regather my wits. Something was about to go down, and I had a feeling I would need them. So what if I was teetering on the brink? My girls needed me. Or my buffs anyway. I did not have time to die. I would survive on raw grit if I had to.
The remnants of my intellect regathered somewhat, I happened to focus on the crystal. I had not realized it before now, but it was still there. Fully intact and glowing just as it ever had been, it remained the only source of light in the room.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, trying to reconcile the cognitive dissonance. How could that be? How could Arx be free and holding me in her arms while the pillar remained? I had assumed my spell would just make the thing disintegrate. What had happened? What had I done?
The rumbling came again, and this time, I saw the source of it. Up at the top of the pillar, the capitol stone—the wide, carved rock attaching the pillar to the ceiling—had just slid downward by a finger’s width. Through the crystal.
And the crystal had not reacted in the slightest. There were no cracks. It had not crumbled. The ceiling was beginning to literally phase through the pillar like some sort of video game glitch.
Understanding came quickly. I had infused it with the quality of nothingness, and for its own reasons, the magic had decided to interpret that by making the pillar insubstantial. It still existed, but only as a mirage of itself. As such, it could no longer contain my lilim… or hold up the ceiling.
The ceiling composed entirely of multi-ton bricks.
In my desperation, I had chosen the nuclear option, and now we were about to pay the price.
The capital stone shifted again. Two fingers.
“Oh, fuck…” I breathed. It was all I could manage by way of warning.
The girls’ attention was drawn immediately by my whispered words—my first in some minutes—and then their eyes followed mine upward.
Arx’s arms tightened around me for a moment, and she growled at the ceiling.
“Whistling dicks,” Lynnria swore by way of agreement, mangling the expression beyond comprehension. But it still summed up the situation pretty well.
Arx cast a befuddled look at her before quickly repositioning her grip on me. She was not anywhere near as strong as she once had been, so she could not manhandle me anymore. But I did not detect even a hint of strain when she hoisted me onto her back. She had not been neglecting her physical stats.
“What do we do?” Lynnria shouted.
Arx just snorted. “We run.”
“But what about that golem?” Lynnria protested, verging on hysteria. “It’s almost—“
“We run,” Arx said again, cutting her off.
Then, without so much as another glance even to see if she would follow, Arx put actions to words.
She ran.
Seleroan
Hey there, gentle reader.
Enjoying the content? Well, why not drop by my Patreon? It helps me keep this show running, and allows me to afford great things like editors, cover artists, and food!
But more importantly, there's those all-important advanced chapters, Patreon exclusive character art, and even the occasional poll to influence the direction of the story.
Come on down! We'd love to see you.
My eye twitched. No! Fucking…! What was that?!
The glow suddenly redoubled in strength. Then tripled. And with it came heat. Then a lot of heat. I had let myself waver, and now I was starting to lose it.
Whatever. Just keep going! You’re almost there!
“You!”
Tears gathered in my eyes in a futile attempt to shield them, and what was left of my beard began to curl and smoke from the growing furnace. The pain was threatening to overwhelm me.
But I would not be defeated! I could not err!
“Are!”
I sucked the blistering air into my lungs and screamed into the light, trying to push it back with the force of my voice alone.
“Nothing!”
Abruptly, there came a sound like the side of a volcano imploding. Then, the light burst forth, lifting me from my feet, but before I could fall, a wind blasted me from behind. For a handful of seconds, the two competing forces surged around me in a maelstrom of chaos, suspending me in perfect equilibrium between them.
I wanted to weep. To howl. To pull at my hair and curl into a gibbering ball.
But I had been here before. I had seen the face of madness. A paltry moment of violent, untamed bedlam could no longer phase me.
Something was happening. Something not… exactly… an explosion. And that was all I needed to know.
I had achieved a true, if almost certainly flawed, magic. It hurt like a bitch, but I had not been blown into a million pieces. So I weathered the consequences stoically.
Soon enough, it was over. The light vanished. The wind died. And I collapsed. All was again quiet save for the sounds of my own trembling breaths.
I was on the brink, I knew. Whatever I had just done, it had taken everything I had left to accomplish. The edges of my peripherals were starting to fade to black. I was done.
But then I felt soft and deliciously cool hands cup my blistered cheeks. Slowly, my head was lifted up.
And there she was. My Arx. Surrounded by an angelic corona of blue light. She was free. I had done it.
My overtaxed and weary heart summoned what little strength it had left to flutter with joy. However, there was something in her eyes. A pain. A terrible longing.
“Hungry.”
The whispered word held the promise of violence. As animalistic as it was certain. Even so, I could not help but to smirk.
“You, too, huh?” I coughed out. Then, I reached up a trembling hand to pat her cheek. “S-sorry about that. It took me… so long… to find you again.”
For a moment, her eyebrows bunched together in confusion and she gave me a searching look. But then she seemed to dismiss her concerns.
“Hungry,” she said again. Gently, she snagged my thumb between her teeth and began to suckle it. A low moan rumbled out of her throat. “Want. Feel again. Yours. Want feel again yours.”
I smiled indulgently. Lilim were going to lilim.
“I’d… l-like that… sweetie. I really would, but…” My eyes unfocused for a moment, and I had to catch myself. “I think… I think I need to rest.”
“No. No!” She shook me lightly. And for some reason, the ground below me shook with it. “Yours. Make feel again! I yours.”
I nodded weakly despite not quite understanding what she was getting at. “Yes. Yes, you’re mine. Of course, you are.”
Instantly, she pressed her nose up against my cheek and sucked in a long and rapturous breath. She held it there for a long few seconds before reluctantly allowing it to escape again.
“More…”
Her tongue flicked out and seductively ran up the side of my jaw. For some reason, it felt heavenly against my burns. Almost like a balm. The sensation set my eyes to fluttering.
“More!” she whined again, only just distracting me from the inevitable siren call of slumber. When I did not respond, she snatched up my hand and urgently pressed it against her full bosom. “Make feel again!”
The pillowy softness of it felt glorious even through her loose tunic. The twine she had been using to cinch it to her body was missing, I noted vaguely. However, even such a brazen act as that could not stir me to life.
“I…”
My head lolled back. But before I could pass out completely, that vibration came again. I had felt it for sure that time.
“Donum!” Lynrria’s voice echoed out of the archway, approaching rapidly.
Arx’s head jerked up. Her expression instantly became guarded, and she protectively gathered me to her chest like a mother clutching her infant.
“Donum, you need to hurry! It’s almost…”
Hurry? What…? It seemed unfathomable to me that she had not at least heard the aftermath of that spell, but I was in no position to ask. And whatever else Lynnria had been about to say was forgotten the moment she saw us.
I assumed. I could not turn to look. Even if Arx’s arms had not been encircling me like a vice, I barely had the strength to raise an arm.
For a few moments, all I could hear were the girl’s panting breaths.
“Y-you… He did it. I—I can’t believe…” Lynnria swallowed, and a fearful choking noise escaped her throat. “Is… is he alive?”
Arx took half a step back at the question, dragging me with her. She replied with a sharp and punctuated hiss.
It would seem my lilim was a little too hungry yet for anything approaching polite conversation, so I made the effort to at least twitch my fingers a little to let her know I was still amongst the living. For the moment.
She strangled back a gasp on seeing it, and I heard a couple of her steps approaching. “What’s wrong with him? Is he… is he okay? Did you hurt him?!”
Arx hissed again, much more aggressively. “Mine!”
Oh, that’s just great. Very helpful, Arx.
I had hoped I would at least have the capacity to stand—or in fact, speak—during this initial confrontation, but it seemed the stars were not aligned for me today. The two of them would just have to work it out for themselves. I wished Lynnria luck.
However, before she could decide how to respond, all three of us picked up the rumbling, this time accompanied by a bit of dust settling into our eyes.
“That… doesn’t sound like the golem,” Lynnria said ominously.
Arx perked up at that word. Whatever her agenda, it placed a distant second to immanent threats. “Golem?”
Lynnria was silent for a moment, doubtlessly trying to decide what to do about the wild and contentious woman clutching at my all-but-unconscious body. However, as Arx had at least shown the capacity for reason, she decided to give diplomacy one last shot.
While Lynnria briefly explained our situation and the approaching threat, I struggled to regather my wits. Something was about to go down, and I had a feeling I would need them. So what if I was teetering on the brink? My girls needed me. Or my buffs anyway. I did not have time to die. I would survive on raw grit if I had to.
The remnants of my intellect regathered somewhat, I happened to focus on the crystal. I had not realized it before now, but it was still there. Fully intact and glowing just as it ever had been, it remained the only source of light in the room.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, trying to reconcile the cognitive dissonance. How could that be? How could Arx be free and holding me in her arms while the pillar remained? I had assumed my spell would just make the thing disintegrate. What had happened? What had I done?
The rumbling came again, and this time, I saw the source of it. Up at the top of the pillar, the capitol stone—the wide, carved rock attaching the pillar to the ceiling—had just slid downward by a finger’s width. Through the crystal.
And the crystal had not reacted in the slightest. There were no cracks. It had not crumbled. The ceiling was beginning to literally phase through the pillar like some sort of video game glitch.
Understanding came quickly. I had infused it with the quality of nothingness, and for its own reasons, the magic had decided to interpret that by making the pillar insubstantial. It still existed, but only as a mirage of itself. As such, it could no longer contain my lilim… or hold up the ceiling.
The ceiling composed entirely of multi-ton bricks.
In my desperation, I had chosen the nuclear option, and now we were about to pay the price.
The capital stone shifted again. Two fingers.
“Oh, fuck…” I breathed. It was all I could manage by way of warning.
The girls’ attention was drawn immediately by my whispered words—my first in some minutes—and then their eyes followed mine upward.
Arx’s arms tightened around me for a moment, and she growled at the ceiling.
“Whistling dicks,” Lynnria swore by way of agreement, mangling the expression beyond comprehension. But it still summed up the situation pretty well.
Arx cast a befuddled look at her before quickly repositioning her grip on me. She was not anywhere near as strong as she once had been, so she could not manhandle me anymore. But I did not detect even a hint of strain when she hoisted me onto her back. She had not been neglecting her physical stats.
“What do we do?” Lynnria shouted.
Arx just snorted. “We run.”
“But what about that golem?” Lynnria protested, verging on hysteria. “It’s almost—“
“We run,” Arx said again, cutting her off.
Then, without so much as another glance even to see if she would follow, Arx put actions to words.
She ran.
Seleroan
Hey there, gentle reader.
Enjoying the content? Well, why not drop by my Patreon? It helps me keep this show running, and allows me to afford great things like editors, cover artists, and food!
But more importantly, there's those all-important advanced chapters, Patreon exclusive character art, and even the occasional poll to influence the direction of the story.
Come on down! We'd love to see you.
