Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 79!
I got a bit sick this week (Mostly runny nose and migraine), so my productivity (which is not very high in the first place) took a dive. I did finish writing chapter 93 though but I still have to edit it. I'll do that tomorrow and post in on patre0n. By the way I'm much better now.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter and see ya next week!
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Molvograd, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
A month later, in his cultivation room, Demian suddenly stopped circulating his Cultivation Technique. As his eyes fluttered open, a slight frown appeared on his face before disappearing after he let out a sigh of resignation. "I told you already to stop caring so much about breaking through, babe." Seraphine's soft voice resounded in his ears, prompting him to respond wistfully. "I know. It's just that I'm so close... I can sense the barrier to getting to the High Elementary Grade, but I just can't find a way to get through quickly. The only way I found that seems to work is by grinding it little by little. But the speed is so slow..." While speaking those words, he turned his gaze toward the young woman. Like him, she gained a lot through the last month they spent training at the Fallen Fire Estate.
"If you can't do it quickly, then you can't do it quickly. As long as you know you can get there in time, that's all that matters. Look, I'm also stuck at the Peak Mid Elementary Grade with my Void Shadow Physique and you don't see me complaining, do you?" Scratching his cheek in thought, he then claimed. "I guess you're right. With Bryn, you, and me, we should be able to defend ourselves without too much problem..." "But?" From his tone, she could easily guess that there was still something on his mind. Looking at her, he had a sudden urge to feel her body warmth, prompting him to grab her waist and move her to sit on his lap, with her back leaning on his chest. With both his arms circling her belly, he then shared his concerns with her. "It's just that I'm worried about Liya and..."
Despite not finishing his sentence, she knew him well enough to guess the rest. "And Uncle, right?" While rubbing his face against her silky purple-colored hair and taking in her enchanting smell, he mumbled. "Yeah, a bit..." His words tickled her ear, making her body twitch slightly while a brief moan escaped her lips. Tapping gently against his thigh, she reproached him in a half-hearted tone. "Stop doing that! You know how sensitive I am!" His chuckling was instantly brought short when she started to rub a few times her toned but curvy ass on his lower member. "Mmh..." A brief grunt of pleasure escaped his lips at her unexpected action.
Giggling at her mischief, she declared proudly. "That's for making me horny!" With around two months to get used to being constantly aroused, although, with the degree of said arousal varying greatly, it only took him a brief moment to calm himself down. "Aren't you always horny?" He responded playfully. Despite the two of them knowing how spot-on his statement was, that did not stump her at all. "I meant hornier than I usually am. If it wasn't because I'm starting to get used to it, I'd have jumped your bones on the spot." And he would not have uttered a word of complaint. However, he knew that there was a time and place for everything. "I'm sorry, Love." This time he was serious and she could feel it, prompting her to respond while putting her hands on his. "I know and it's fine. I just don't like it when you avoid talking about important stuff by doing that."
Tightening his hold on her, he silently contemplated her words for a while before saying something seemingly unrelated. "I don't know why, but when I hold your body in my arms, all my worries seem to completely disappear... It's a peaceful feeling..." His voice contained no lust but simply the Love he felt for her. Through the Bond they shared, he noted that, after she heard his words, a burst of pure joy and the same strong Love he was feeling for her, but this time it was for him, surfaced in her heart. "I'm really happy..." She said contentedly before the two fell into silence, with their only preoccupation being to enjoy each other's presence.
After a few minutes and with their body and mind completely relaxed, Demian whispered. "About what we talked about earlier..." Sera swiftly understood, prompting her to ask lazily. "Mmmhh? About your father?" "Yeah." He responded calmly before clarifying. "I'm worried... Even if I want to not care about him... It's just..." While gently stroking his hand, she finished his sentence. "It's just that it's your father." Letting out a resigned sigh, he then nodded while saying. "Exactly. I know he's abandoned me since I was a baby. Even now, he hasn't even tried to get close to me. But I don't know... Sometimes I can't help but think 'Maybe he had his reasons...? I know it sounds stupid and childish, but I just can't help myself...'"
His voice lowered more and more as the words left his mouth until he finally fell silent. He did not know why he still had hope. Did he learn nothing from having an absent father in both his previous and current lives? "You still hope to have a normal father-son relationship, right?" Her rhetorical statement halted his contemplation, prompting him to respond with some confusion lacing his voice. "I guess so... I know it won't work, but there's that part of me that just can't let go." Pausing for a brief moment, he then added in a wry tone. "At least I don't feel angry anymore..." The room fell still for a while as Demian waited for to hear her thoughts. After all, Seraphine was very good at understanding human behavior, much better than him at least. That, and the fact that she was not directly involved as well.
Luckily, she did not disappoint his expectations. "The way you described it, it sounds like those five stages of grief I've read about in the past." Cocking his brow, he said with some curiosity. "I also heard about it, but I'm not too familiar with the exact details..." "I'll explain what I remember." She only paused for a second before resuming. "The five stages are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. I think you've gone through the first two already and I'm guessing that you're experiencing the third one." To which he asked doubtfully. "Aren't those stages for when someone close to you passes away?"
While intertwining her fingers with his, she replied calmly. "That too, but not necessarily. From what I read, it applies to any loss, whether it be losing a job, a person, an animal, or a particular situation. Of course, there are different degrees of emotions depending on each case. In yours, I'd say that the fact that your father abandoned you as a baby caused you grief. Which is completely logical. The problem is that you didn't 'accept' that situation, so you're going through those stages because your subconscious is telling you that it's the way to fix your father-son relationship with Roman. But the thing is, there was never any relationship to fix, so it can't work."
Her explanation seemed to resonate with some part of him, although he still had some slight doubts. Were those doubts, though, or simply some unwillingness to accept the truth as she said? He was not sure. "What you're saying is that I'm delusional, right?" Unwittingly, his tone was filled with some irritation, despite being aware that she was only trying to help him. Instead of commenting about it, however, she shrugged her shoulders before responding gently. "I'd say everyone is delusional in their own way. It just so happens that your delusion is about the broken relationship with your father." Her words made that previous irritation vanish, after which he replied. "I'll keep what you said in mind." At that point, he thought about something. "By the way, we keep talking about me. But what about you? What's your 'delusion' as you put it?" The question seemed to trigger something in her from the way her body tensed up instantly. Thankfully, he felt her slowly relaxing right after. Only she seemed back to her previous calm state did she start talking. "I... I've been thinking about it a lot recently and... What terrifies me is the idea that you, Mom, or Sis will leave me alone someday... I know it sounds ridiculous, and it's probably a delusion, but it's stuck in my mind and I'm trying to get rid of it but at the same ti..."
As someone who was an expert in overthinking, he knew that if he did not stop her, she would throw herself deeper and deeper into her self-induced fears. Thus, he instantly tightened his hold on her body while gently rubbing his cheek against hers and whispering firmly. "I'll always be by your side, my Love." Feeling a bit playful, he added. "Speaking of which, with our Souls bonded for Eternity, you can forget about getting rid of me. You're mine and I'm yours forever and ever..." He instantly sensed that his words took her out of her previous self-destructive spiral. Suddenly, an idea surfaced in his mind. Something very likely to cheer her up. "Love, I've got an idea. Why don't the two of us get married?"
The question made her tremble briefly before she asked in a tone mixed with disbelief and hope. "We... We can't get married, remember?" After giving her a gentle kiss on her smooth cheek, he declared firmly. "That's only if we do a state or religion-sanctioned marriage. But since we're cultivators, who cares if some random people agree with us being together? We can just do our own ceremony with our loved ones around as witnesses."
Despite her silence, he knew that his 'proposal' shook her to her core, turning her mind into a jumbled mess of intense emotions ranging from positive ones like happiness and anticipation to negative ones like worry and panic. At that point, Demian knew that any additional word would not help. It was her decision to make and her fight to win. What he could do, however, was hold her in his arms and send as much love as possible through their Soul Link.
A few minutes of stillness later, he finally sensed her inner turmoil calming down. Right after, he heard her whispering. "Are you serious about us getting married?" He could tell that she still had doubts. After all, she may look strong and confident in front of people, but he knew very well that she also desperately needed to feel loved, whether as a sister, a daughter, or a lover. 'Well, it's not as if I'm any different. Having such an amazing woman in my arms still feels unreal...' He briefly thought before saying out loud. "Of course, I am. Although I do consider the vows we've taken before our Souls bonded to be equivalent to marriage vows, I don't mind going through an official ceremony."
Seraphine stayed quiet for a few moments before she replied softly. "I would like that." She stopped speaking for a second before adding teasingly. "But you really need to work on your proposal! You didn't even kneel in front of me." Chuckling at her quip, he exclaimed. "It was a bit rushed, I agree. As long as you give me a bit of time, I'll make a better a better proposal." A few giggles escaped her mouth as well before she claimed. "I'll reluctantly give you a bit more time then." Playing along, he retorted. "Her Majesty's wish is my command." The two burst into some light laughter for a while before she declared. "Joke aside, we can't get married before you finish what you have to do."
Coking his brow, he asked confused. "What do you mean?" Tapping gently on his hand, she responded in a playful tone. "Did you forget about Mom and Big Sis? When we get married they'll definitely be there. Are they supposed to watch us get married while they stay on the side? Knowing them, that'd make it almost impossible for you to turn them into your lovers afterward." Her statement made him briefly speechless before he uttered wryly. "I see you've thought about everything already..." Shaking her head, she replied smugly. "Not everything, but since I want them to also become your wives, I need to be smart about it."
"Shouldn't I be the one to say something like that?" He questioned doubtfully, after which she retorted. "You're too wishy-washy for that. If I waited for you to make a move on them, we'd probably be dead from old age already. And I mean that as a cultivator." "Alright, alright. You don't have to keep twisting the knife, I get it." After letting out a breath, he added. "Joke aside, you're right. We'd better wait for after I bring them into my harem... God! Saying it like just feels cringe for some reason." She followed his words with a few giggles before she said. "Speaking of which, we need to think ab..."
Her words were suddenly cut off when a few strong knocks reached their ears. With a quick sweep of their Divine Sense toward the bedroom door, they both recognized the woman standing in front of their room with a solemn expression on her face. "Looking at Sis' face, something serious definitely happened." Seraphine said while the two stood up instantly before dashing toward the bedroom door. After Demian opened it, he asked Bryn. "What's up, Sis? Why are you making that face?" To which she responded with only a few words. "Roman notified us. There's a lightning storm happening a few kilometers South of Molvograd. Let's go see him."