Kaito blinked and the world was gone. No forest, No fire, No Lyria breathing quietly a few feet away.
Just… white.
Then black.
Then gold light.
His body floated, he was naked again.
This was becoming a theme.
[SYSTEM NOTICE – DREAM STATE ENTERED]
[E.R.O.S ADMIN CORE REQUESTING SURFACE LINK...]
[...ACCEPTED]
Something lit up in front of him, a shape. No, a woman?
Golden eyes opened from the dark.
Her body formed out of glowing light, curves where he wanted them, legs for days with a lips he could feel even before she spoke.
"You're slower than I expected," she said.
Kaito backed up midair. "Who.. wha... this is a dream, right?"
She smiled. "More or less, mostly less."
Her form shifted as she stepped closer.
Black heels clicked against nothing. Her hair glowed gold, her dress (barely one) flowed like smoke moving where his eyes landed and tight where it counted, sheer where it didn't need to be.
"You're the error," she said. "The only Weaver to sync to a dormant core in a thousand years."
"Cool," Kaito croaked. "Please don't take my soul."
She stepped closer, her finger tracing along his chest sparking static where it passed. He gasped.
"I'm not here to take your soul," she whispered.
"I'm here to see if it can break."
[WARNING – SYSTEM CONTACT INITIATED]
[ADMIN LEVEL: CORE E.R.O.S]
[Desire Layer – Overclocking… 12%...]
Kaito's knees buckled even though there was no ground.
Her lips were close.
"You've been syncing well," she murmured, brushing a thumb over his lower lip. "Too well, I should warn you, emotional overloads can cause hard crashes."
She paused, grin softly.
"Or just hard."
Kaito's body was definitely reacting,
his book was shaking.
He tried to look away. Failed.
Her body was changing, adapting to match every guilty thought he ever had longer legs, tighter hips, a voice that flickered between gentle domination and mocking queen.
"You're not a god," he muttered.
"No," she said, one hand sliding slowly down his stomach. "I'm worse."
[SYNC DEPTH: 22% – Core Threshold Building]
[New Ability Available: Desire Sense (Passive)]
[Effect: Detects hidden wants, taboos, shame-linked desire near bonded individuals]
[Side Effect: Random Arousal. Deal with it.]
She leaned in. Her breasts pressed against his chest, not soft but intimate.
She licked the shell of his ear, he twitched.
"You'll feel them soon, what they want, what they hide, what they beg for behind polite words."
Her mouth found his neck and Bit it gently.
"You'll taste it in the way they look at you, hear it in what they don't say."
Her hand moved lower as he gasped, but before she could grip him..
[SYNC INTERRUPT – USER STIMULATION OVERLOAD IMMINENT]
[E.R.O.S RECEDING TO BACK CHANNEL...]
[Cooldown Applied]
She stopped and pulled back with a smirked.
"Oh," she whispered, "you're going to be so much fun, I can feel it."
The world started cracking again.
She started vanishing, turning into data and smoke still wearing that wicked grin.
"One last thing," she said, already fading.
"When the other Cores wake up… they'll try to kill you."
"But not before they try to own you."
Kaito shot up from the ground panting, half hard and glowing.
His skin sizzled faintly like he'd been touched by a sunbeam.
Lyria stood nearby still sharpening her blade.
She raised one brow.
"You moaned in your sleep."
Kaito blinked. "System dream."
She smirked. "Looked more like a system wet dream."
He covered himself with a blanket of shame.
[PASSIVE SKILL UNLOCKED: DESIRE SENSE – LV.1]
PORT GALLEN — DUSK..
The Port of Gallen smelled like salt, sweat and filth.
Kaito dodged a wagons and immediately tripped over a pile of fishing nets.
"Cool," he muttered from the ground. "Just another day in this new world and gravity still hates me."
Lyria didn't laugh, she just pulled her cloak lower and kept walking like she didn't know him.
The town wasn't big, but it buzzed.
Ships parked in the harbor. Merchants shouted from stalls, kids ran barefoot past crates of something... definitely not legal.
Kaito tried to blend in, he wore simple clothes now, boots, a loose shirt, a belt that didn't match. He thought he looked "rugged."
He just looked like a broke tourist.
[PASSIVE: DESIRE SENSE – LV.2 | RANGE: 5m | Status: ACTIVE]
It triggered before they even reached the market.
A guy selling apples..
[Hidden Desire: Dominate his landlord with a riding crop.]
A guard watching Lyria pass..
[Hidden Desire: Be stepped on by a tall woman with a sword.]
A nun near the fountain..
[Hidden Desire: Lyria In chains, Possibly oiled up.]
Kaito clutched his chest like he was about to die.
"Oh my god, everyone's a pervert."
Lyria looked over her shoulder. "What?"
"Nothing, Town's nice, very wholesome. Definitely not thinking about your thighs."
She blinked. "My what?"
"Nothing."
They reached the central market, Lyria moved toward the dockmaster's office quietly.
"I'll handle transport," she said. "You stay here and try not to start another bounty."
"Can I get food?"
"Can you do it without being molested by the system?"
"…I'll try?*
Kaito wandered toward a tavern called The Lazy Kraken.
It looked safe, It was not.
The second he sat down a drunk guy two stools over leaned in.
"Well hey there pretty boy."
Oh no.
"You got that soft mage vibe, bet you cast Dominate in bed, huh?"
"I... no... I'm—what?"
"You got Core juice leaking off you, sweetheart."
"Okay, ew. Stop saying juice."
He slid off the stool and backed away only to feel eyes on him.
From the second level of the tavern, a woman leaned over the rail.
Short red hair with tight clothes. Knife at the hip, Smile like a menace.
She clocked him instantly.
[Unknown Sync Signature Detected – LV.??]
She came down the stairs slow. Every step made his stomach drop.
"You're the Bond Weaver, right?" she said.
He blinked. "Nope, never heard of him. I'm... Doug."
"You're glowing with glitch aura, Doug."
He backed up but she kept walking.
"You smell like you've touched a Core. That's dangerous."
"I smell like bath soap and trauma, thank you very much."
She grinned.
"I like you."
That's when Lyria walked in.
Her sword unsheathed before the door even shut.
The redhead looked between them, smirked again.
"Oh," she said. "Jealous girlfriend?"
Lyria's eyes glowed. "Try it again and I'll cut your next flirt out of your throat."
The tavern went quiet. Then..
[BOND SURGE – TRIGGER: DEFENSE INSTINCT]
[LYRIA STATUS: Protective. Horny. Irritated.]
Kaito whispered: "I was gone for ten minutes.."