CHAPTER 24: EVOLUTION

The heat of our bodies still floated in the air, heavy, sticky. Nyss lay on her side, thighs parted, panting, her back glistening with sweat. Her deep red skin shone as if every pore exhaled lust. Her hips still twitched reflexively, despite the exhaustion pinning her to the ground.

Sae, on the other hand, hadn’t moved. Sitting back on her heels, head slightly tilted, she watched me. Her clear eyes fixed on my bare chest, slowly drifting downward, as if studying every line of muscle still tense from the effort. Her thighs, covered in black sand, were parted just enough to betray the state she had remained in throughout the entire act.

A breath escaped me. The metallic taste of blood and the dense scent of sex still mingled on my tongue. I wiped away with the back of my hand a wet trace running down my chin... then, thinking about the system, a notification appeared.

[System – LUST v2.01]

You have killed Kaelriss, Blood Warrior.

+1 level; +150 shop points.

Current level: 10.

A shiver ran down my spine.

The words vanished immediately, replaced by a new interface.

[System]Evolution unlocked: Choose your branch.

Three lines inscribed themselves in the air before me, sharp, almost solemn.

— Strategist

Mastery of military coordination and troop psychology. Increases the effectiveness of your subordinates in the field.

Effect: +1 Intelligence, +1 free point per level.

— Assassin

Speed, stealth, and lethal execution before the enemy even realizes you’re there.

Effect: +1 Speed, +1 free point per level.

— Archer

Absolute precision, heightened perception, and total control of ranged attacks.

Effect: +1 Perception, +1 free point per level.

I stayed still for a moment, eyes fixed on these options.

Assassin. Archer. Two perfect paths to win fast, hit hard, crush the enemy before they can get up. But that kind of power doesn’t last. It works... as long as the war isn’t total. As long as the enemy doesn’t change the rules.

And then there was Strategist. Colder. Slower to reveal its true weight. But, at the decisive moment... it wasn’t about killing a man. It was about dominating a world.

A smile brushed my lips.

— You’re the one, I murmured.

I reached out my hand. The screen pulsed once... and a hot wave spread from my nape to my temples.

The sensation rose, burning, as if every thought caught fire. The edges of the room faded. My body lost its grip.

Sae straightened in one motion. Nyss jolted, as if my energy had passed through her.

Then the darkness swallowed me.

When I opened my eyes, the light had changed. Redder. Denser. The heat clinging to my skin wasn’t only from the air: it was the trace of a heavy sleep, riddled with strange fevers.

Sae was leaning over me. Her black hair, still damp with sweat, brushed my bare shoulders with every breath. Her chest grazed mine when she leaned closer to check my breathing. She said nothing at first. She was examining me. Not like someone looking at a wounded man... but like someone contemplating something that had evolved overnight.

— You’ve changed, she finally whispered.

Her voice was low, almost... cautious. Her eyes slid over my face, then lower, to my abs still taut, marked by the fight and the act of the night before. She pulled back slightly, just enough for the front of her top to fall open. A dark nipple appeared, stiff, as if calling to me.

I turned my head. Nyss was already awake. Lying on her side, she watched me with that mix of defiance and submission no other woman could imitate. Her skin, still marbled with red marks and traces of my hands, breathed fatigue... and a new glimmer.

She pushed herself up slowly, letting her heavy breasts sway under their own weight. Her thighs closed with a wet sound, a direct reminder of the night before. She didn’t bother to cover herself.

— Now I understand...

She paused, as if to savor the words. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and a thin smile formed on her lips.

— Why no other creature could ever surpass you. Not in lust... not in sex. Not even me. Even me, Sora. And I’m an alpha succubus, daughter of the Succubus General. In my next life, I could reach the top. But not in front of you.

She lowered her eyes, as if the confession cost her. Then she raised them again, burning.

— Even mentally... I couldn’t break you. And during the act... it was worse. I gave in.

I let the silence last on purpose. Then I cut in with a low, cold voice that made both Sae and Nyss flinch:

— There is one other person capable of that...

Without giving them time to dwell on it, I sat up on the edge of the makeshift bedding, forearms resting on my thighs.

Sae, on my left, was tying the straps of her black outfit, but with every movement, her chest leaned toward me, giving me the perfect view of her still-firm breasts, marked with scratches.

Nyss, on my right, was sliding her fingers over the skin of her thighs as if to make sure it was all still real.

— We’re not going to go in circles, I said. We need to decide where to go, and fast.

Sae lifted her eyes to me, her serious expression contrasting with the body she was exposing without realizing it.

Nyss, for her part, held my gaze, then spoke:

— I know a way. Not the safest... but the fastest. It leads to Scarlet Forge.

I tilted my head slightly. That name, I knew. An ancient bastion buried in red stone, known for its forges capable of creating weapons that could withstand demonic flames.

— And there? I asked.

— There... is one of the Generals. Kaenira, the Burning Hand.

Nyss spoke the name like both a threat and a promise. Sae froze, her hands suspended in midair.

— But, Nyss continued, between here and Scarlet Forge lies the Gorge of Tribes.

She sat cross-legged, naked, as if the subject deserved her full attention but covering her body would have been an insult to our bond.

— Many tribes live there. All at war to elect their next leader. Three strangers... that draws attention. Either we get attacked, or we’re forcibly integrated.

I let a brief silence pass, watching the calculating glint in her eyes.

In my first life... you conquered this region, I thought.

I stood, my shadow covering her bare shoulders.

— This time... I’ll be the one placing my pieces.

Sae shivered, and Nyss inclined her head. The room once again smelled of tension and heat. But this time, it wasn’t lust that set the air ablaze... it was the coming war.

Nyss leaned over the low table, tracing a circle in the dust with her wet finger, then slashing two lines through it.

— The Gorge of Tribes isn’t just a battlefield, she said. It’s a permanent arena. Each tribe has its territory, its rules, and its temporary alliances. One day, they ally to attack a neighbor... the next, they kill each other over a campfire.

Sae had moved closer, crouched beside me. Her black outfit, poorly fastened, opened on her bare hip every time she bent forward to get a better look at the marks in the dust. I could feel her warmth through the air, saturated with the smells of sand and sweat.

Nyss raised her eyes to me.

— If we enter unannounced, we’ll be tested. The weak are subdued. The strong are courted... until they’re betrayed.

A short smirk escaped me.

— Then we won’t enter as strangers.

She tilted her head slightly, waiting for the rest.

— We’ll enter as disruptors. Not to take the title... but to impose one simple rule: here, I decide who wears it.

A spark crossed Nyss’s eyes, a mix of excitement and challenge. She slowly slid her finger along the circle drawn on the table, as if to close its borders, and murmured:

— Then we’ll have to strike fast, and strike true.

Sae lifted her eyes to me, silent, but I saw her gaze darken as it always did when war took shape in my mind.

I stood, looking at them both.

— Get ready. We leave at the rise of the second sun.

The second sun was barely climbing when we left the shelter. The black sand, still cool from the night, crunched under our feet. The air carried that metallic scent that always heralded a hot, dangerous day.

Nyss walked ahead, naked to the waist, her dark hair flowing in the dry wind. Every sway of her hips was a visual reminder of the night before, as if she wanted the entire Gorge to know who she belonged to now. Her supple tail sometimes flicked the air behind her, accentuating the sway of her hips.

Sae, on my left, had put her black outfit back on, but without fastening it completely. The folds of fabric revealed glimpses of her pale skin, and with every step, the line of her bare thigh appeared like a silent challenge.

I hadn’t spoken since waking. I wanted them to feel that a leader’s silence sometimes speaks louder than an order. We descended a rocky slope, and the Gorge appeared.

A red chasm, deep, crossed by a thin trickle of black water. On its flanks, clinging to the stone like hornets’ nests, the tribal villages formed an unbroken chain of forts and carved totems. Tiny silhouettes moved on rope bridges and wooden walkways. Even from here, you could feel the tension down below.

I stopped at the edge. The system suddenly pulsed in my skull.

[System – LUST v2.01]

New main mission: Unify the Gorge of Tribes.

Objective: Place a loyal leader in every key post.

Reward: +10,000 shop points; 1 advanced strategic skill.

Failure: Loss of influence in the region.

A slow smile spread across my lips.

— We’re going down, I said.

Nyss threw me a look over her shoulder, a provocative smile on her lips, and let her tail brush against my thigh as she passed. Sae tightened the strap of her dagger, but I caught her gaze sliding toward Nyss with a shadow of envy.

In this war, there would be blood. And in every victory... a scent of lust.