The air in the shed grew thick, charged with the sweet scent of jasmine and the rawness of Rose's vulnerability. Michael's command hung between them, stark and undeniable.
"Undress," he had said, his voice calm, as if asking her to hand him a book.
Rose stood frozen, her hopeful expression crumbling into one of pure shock. The hand he wasn't holding flew instinctively to the collar of her uniform. "W-what? But... why?"
"The connection needs to be direct, Rose," Michael explained, his tone patient, almost clinical. It was a lie wrapped in a kernel of truth.
The [Blooming Ascension] skill required intimacy, but this was about domination, not efficiency. "The energy transfer is obstructed by barriers. Your clothes, your inhibitions... they're all barriers. To reshape your trait, I need unhindered access to your core. This is the method."
Tears welled in her eyes again, but these were of shame and confusion. "I... I can't..."
"You can," he countered, his gaze unwavering. "You said you were tired of being nothing. You said you would do anything. Was that a lie?"
He let the question hang, a sharp hook in her conscience. "This is the price, Rose. This is what it means to truly change. There are no safe paths to power."
He could see the internal war playing out across her face. The desperate hope he and Cindy had planted was battling a lifetime of modesty and fear. She looked around the dusty, isolated shed, a perfect metaphor for her dead-end life. This was her crossroads.
If I walk away now, she thought, her mind racing, I go back to being the flower girl everyone laughs at. I go back to being afraid forever. But if I do this... if I trust him... he can make me strong. He has to. It's my only chance. There won't be another.
A single tear traced a path down her cheek. With a trembling, hesitant hand, she reached for the first button of her blouse. Her movements were slow, jerky, as if her body was fighting her will.
One by one, the buttons came undone, revealing the plain white fabric of her bra underneath. She let the blouse fall to the dusty floor.
Her skin was pale and seemed to glow in the dim light. She kept her arms crossed over her chest, her entire body trembling.
"All of it, Rose," Michael prompted, his voice soft but inexorable.
A sob caught in her throat, but she obeyed. She unzipped her skirt, letting it pool at her feet. Standing there in her simple white bra and panties, she looked more exposed than if she were completely naked. She was utterly vulnerable, her body offered up as a sacrifice for a chance at a future.
Michael's eyes roamed over her, not with the frantic lust of a teenager, but with the cold appraisal of a collector acquiring a new piece.
Her body was indeed exquisite—full breasts, a narrow waist, and generous hips that promised fertility and softness. It was a body made for surrender.
He took a step closer, the scent of her fear and the jasmine flower creating a heady mix. "You're making the right choice," he murmured, his voice a low hum that vibrated in the small space. "This is the first step to becoming who you were meant to be."
He reached out, not to touch her, but to hover his hand just above the bare skin of her stomach. The [Blooming Ascension] skill activated again, and a warmer, more potent wave of energy flowed into her.
She gasped, her back arching slightly at the sensation, a confusing mix of violation and exhilarating power.
Ding!
[ Target: Rose Ivy - Trait Ascension in Progress... ]
[ Energy Synergy: 25% ]
[ Requirement for next stage: Deeper intimacy achieved. ]
Michael smiled. The system confirmed it.
Rose stood trembling in her underwear, her mind a whirlpool of shame and a desperate, burgeoning hope. Michael watched her, a connoisseur observing a rare specimen coming to life under his touch.
His hand, which had been hovering over her stomach, finally made contact. His fingers were surprisingly warm as they splayed across her cool, pale skin. Rose flinched, a small gasp escaping her lips.
"Shhh," he murmured, his voice a low, hypnotic drone. "The energy needs a conduit. Your fear is resisting it. You have to let go."
He began to move his hand in slow, deliberate circles, feeling the gentle curve of her waist. The [Blooming Ascension] skill hummed, and with each rotation, a trickle of that strange, warm energy seeped into her.
It wasn't painful. It was... thrilling. A foreign sensation that felt like sunlight spreading through her veins, directly contradicting the violation of the situation.
Ding!
[ Lust Points +15! ]
[ Action: 'Intimidating Caress' - Status: Effective! ]
She's so responsive, Michael thought, his confidence swelling. Her body is betraying her mind already.
His other hand came up to cradle the side of her face, his thumb stroking her cheekbone. Her eyes were wide, locked on his, full of terrified confusion.
"You see?" he whispered, leaning closer. "The power is there. It's waiting for you. All you have to do is accept it. All of it."
He lowered his head, his lips hovering just inches from hers. Rose's breath hitched. This was the line, the final barrier between the old her and the promised new life.
She could feel the energy from his hand, a seductive warmth pooling in her core, making her legs feel weak. It felt so good, so right, in a way that was utterly wrong.
"P-please..." she begged, but the word had lost its meaning. It was no longer a plea for him to stop, but a plea for... something else.
"Accept it, Rose," he commanded softly, and closed the final distance.
His lips were firm and demanding on hers. It was not a kiss of passion, but of possession. Rose stiffened, her hands coming up to push weakly against his chest. But as his tongue traced the seam of her lips, and another, more potent wave of energy crashed into her from his hand on her stomach, her resistance shattered.
A moan, soft and involuntary, vibrated in her throat. Her lips parted, allowing him entry. The push against his chest became a weak clutch at his shirt, her body leaning into his for support as her knees buckled.
The warmth was everywhere now, a dizzying, addictive heat that melted her fear and her will into a puddle of desperate submission.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[ Lust Points +25! ]
[ Lust Points +30! ]
[ Action: 'First Domination Kiss' - Status: Overwhelmingly Successful! ]
Michael drank in her surrender, the points chiming in his mind like a victory fanfare. He kissed her deeper, his hands exploring more boldly now—one tangling in her soft green hair, the other sliding from her stomach to the small of her back, pressing her flush against him.
She was pliant in his arms, her initial stiffness replaced by a boneless, melting softness. Her own responses, though clumsy and inexperienced, were becoming genuine, fueled by the system's manipulation and her own desperate craving for the power he offered.
When he finally broke the kiss, Rose was breathless, her lips swollen, her eyes glazed over. She looked dazed, utterly conquered.
"The first lesson is complete," Michael said, his voice a low thrum of power. He traced the line of her jaw with his finger. "You did well, Rose. Your potential... it's even greater than I imagined."