James did not sleep.
He tried.
But the moment he closed his eyes—
The Vault opened on its own.
Not fully.
Not violently.
But differently.
It was no longer just a dark chamber.
Something inside had changed.
The crimson fragment of Dominance floated within the darkness.
Not loose.
Embedded.
Like a star swallowed by a void.
James stood within his inner space.
The Vault was larger.
Walls no longer smooth black stone.
Now—
Veins of red pulsed faintly through them.
The absorbed desire was integrating.
And it was not passive.
The fragment resisted.
Dominance did not like being owned.
It tried to assert.
To expand.
To override.
James felt it bleed into his personality.
Sharper tone.
Shorter patience.
Subtle irritation.
The voice inside him spoke calmly:
"This is the price."
"Price?"
"You are not storing desires."
"You are merging them."
James studied the crimson veins.
"If I absorb too many conflicting desires…"
"They will conflict inside you."
That was dangerous.
He needed control.
James stepped forward in his inner space.
And touched the crimson fragment directly.
Pain.
It burned.
Dominance tried to push outward.
Tried to shape him.
Tried to make him aggressive.
James did not resist violently.
He suppressed it slowly.
Layer by layer.
Greed wrapping around it like chains.
"I own you," he whispered internally.
The fragment trembled.
Then—
Something unexpected happened.
The Vault reacted.
It began restructuring.
New chambers formed.
Partitions.
Walls separating sections.
Organizing.
Cataloguing.
The voice sounded… surprised.
"You are structuring it."
James narrowed his eyes.
"Of course I am."
He was not reckless.
If desires were to be collected—
They would be categorized.
Controlled.
Stored properly.
Greed was not chaos.
It was acquisition.
And acquisition required management.
The Vault stabilized.
The crimson veins retreated into a sealed chamber.
Labeled instinctively.
Dominance — 7%.
Seven percent.
So that was how much he had taken.
He exhaled slowly.
He now understood the system better:
He could absorb fragments.
Fragments had percentage values.
Too much at once could destabilize him.
But if organized—
He could build himself deliberately.
Customizing his evolution.
His lips curved slowly.
This was better than he expected.
Suddenly—
The Vault trembled again.
But this time—
It wasn't from inside.
It was reacting to something external.
James' eyes snapped open in the real world.
His room felt heavier.
Air thicker.
Someone was outside his door.
Not knocking.
Not hiding.
Standing.
Waiting.
James rose calmly.
Walked to the door.
Opened it.
Lucien stood there.
Hands in pockets.
Expression mild.
"Good evening," Lucien said casually.
James did not show surprise.
"You found my room quickly."
Lucien shrugged.
"You're loud."
James' eyes narrowed slightly.
"I was sleeping."
Lucien tilted his head.
"No."
Silence.
The corridor was empty.
No witnesses.
Lucien stepped inside without invitation.
James closed the door behind him.
The two stood facing each other.
No auras flared.
No power displayed.
But the pressure was immense.
Lucien looked around the room lazily.
Then back at James.
"You took something tonight."
Not a question.
James answered evenly.
"Yes."
Lucien studied him carefully.
"Interesting method."
So he saw it.
Or felt it.
James asked calmly,
"Are you here to report me?"
Lucien smiled faintly.
"I don't care about rules."
Of course he didn't.
Lucien stepped closer.
Close enough that their cores brushed.
The Vault reacted—
But not with hunger.
Caution.
James tried to sense Lucien's desire.
There was nothing.
No color.
No heat.
Just—
Stillness.
"How do you function?" James asked quietly.
Lucien's smile faded slightly.
"I removed mine."
Silence.
James' heartbeat slowed.
"You removed your desire?"
Lucien nodded casually.
"Desire causes weakness. Attachment. Manipulation."
He looked at James with faint curiosity.
"You collect desires."
"Yes."
"I discarded mine."
The contrast was perfect.
Greed versus emptiness.
Lucien stepped back.
"Careful."
"With what?"
Lucien's eyes sharpened slightly.
"If you collect too many… you won't know which one is truly yours."
He turned toward the door.
"And when that happens…"
A pause.
"You'll either break."
Or—
He glanced over his shoulder.
"Become something interesting."
Then he left.
The door closed softly.
James stood alone in the room.
The Vault pulsed slowly.
Organized.
Structured.
Hungry.
Lucien removed his desire to become untouchable.
James would collect them all to become absolute.
Two different paths to transcendence.
And somewhere in the Academy—
Seraphine felt the shift in the air again.
Her Pride burned brighter.
The game was no longer theoretical.
Monsters had started moving.