“Let us play a game then, a challenge if you will, my dear Auroro,” the goddess said.

“A game?”

The world around this table again formed like a fire spreading on a dry field. In this room of similar style to the throne room sat I, the man she called Auroro, and the divine beauty. Between us, dishes, trays and plates of appetizing food.

“What do you have in mind?” I continued, my eyes fixed on hers.

“You say you want to take me, yet, I don’t believe you can.”

“An error in your judgement, to be sure.”

“Be careful, you’re getting a little bit ahead of yourself,” she sang back before taking a sip of her red wine. She turned her eyes back to me, “I will cast you down to the world below. And you will conquer and take until you find your way back here to my sanctum.” She smiled deviously, as if relishing the trial she was placing before me. “By then, you may certainly be almost worthy of an evening with me.”

“I ac-” before I could finish, I felt a light touch and my shoulder, and found myself sitting on a stool, the tantalizing woman behind me.

“There’s a catch however,” she said, lightly massaging my shoulders, every tug threatening to send me to an early euphoric demise. “You see, I plucked you out of the cycle of reincarnation. The power that was forged from your desires made manifest was just that inviting, I must profess.” Her mouth came closer to my ear - I could not turn to greet - the heat of her breath tickling the canal. “I plucked you out from the cycle of rebirth while the other gods weren’t looking and dropped you into my chamber. Normally, you would have been stripped of all your identity, your fledgling power would have been broken and reforged into some more balanced and appeasing and you would have been sent off to live a dream life before eventually dying and being sent back to the human’s world.”

The woman transitioned from standing behind me to stradling my laps in one motion. Her slender arms wrapped around my neck. We were sitting once again on an ornate dining chair.

“You get all that, my dear Auroro,” she said, her eyes staring deep into mine. Her sudden arrival on my body sent me into such shock that I could only muster the strength to nod. Seeing my struggles beneath her influence urged her to lick her lips before continuing. She brought her face closer to mine, her warm breath once again embracing my ear. “But alas, Auroro, I am but a meager Godess of Love and Passion,” she whispered before peeling herself away to face me once again. “There are limits to what I can do, and limits to how long I can defy the natural order to satisfy my own whims. Which is why this must be a game. Your power is one sided, there is no balance within it at all, you on your own will reach nowhere. Which is why you must take what you must, be they land, weapons or the denizens themselves. Sound good so far?”

What happened next must have been a shock for the dear goddess. My ire at being unable to converse reached its peak and the strength of my desires burst forth from my core, shredding the incorporeal mists swirling around me as if they were generic cloth.The goddess couldn’t help but be wide eyed at my bare self that sat below her; the well formed body of a man. I put my hands on her hips and pressed onto the bone.

“I gladly take on this challenge, if it means you’ll be waiting at the end,” I said, smiling, “We’ll have a wonderful time, I promise I’ll give you that.” My body was fixed in place, but I was able to bring my face closer to hers. A surprise blush took hold and within the next moment we were separated again by the length of the table.

“Ahem, well then. I didn’t expect you to be so tender; isn’t your gimmick that you’re all about conquering?” She asked, returning to her poised, greater-than-thou stature.

I looked to her, and then to the food, “I conquer as I see fit. Kindness and tenderness are just as worthwhile a weapon as anything else,” I responded, taking a bite of the meal before me. Now that she wasn’t in close proximity, the wisps of my power, still erupting from me, were enough to shield me from her divine influence and allow me movement and a clear mind.

She took in the sight and relented at the audacity, “Let’s talk about the specifics,” she said.

Closed eyes, open again and looking up towards the canopy of the forest, I felt accomplished. The first trial was overcome, and I gained an asset in the process.

As I looked at Rynissie, asleep on my left arm I recalled the goddess’ words again.

“Your days are numbered,” she said, “but if you do what you do best, and claim strong women, or men, in fits of passion or lust, the sensations born from that union can fuel your life, Auroro. In other words, rape, seduce, fornicate, love, however you choose to do it, if you indulge in carnalities, I can, in my power as a Goddess of love and passion, see that your life is extended as according to the value of your partner.”

Is that really all you’re the goddess of?

Thinking back to it, it was all convenient. Part of me suspected that she could give me infinite life if she truly wanted, but what did I know. Maybe there were rules. Maybe there was a limited supply of what powered my life. Maybe there was something that was produced during the act of sex that she could use to empower me.

I looked back down at Rynissie. She was sleeping on the arm that had the countdown to my death. Once that count reached zero, I would be cast back in to the cycle of incarnation and my existence as “Auroro” would cease. Hopefully, Rynissie was valuable enough to add a few days to my life.

“Wildland Elf huh?” I muttered as I gazed at her nestled form, and unique features. I wondered how many more varieties of women were in this world. Inside me a new desire took root. It wouldn’t be bad if on my journey to the goddess, I claimed all sorts of people as my assets. One or two of each race I encountered would be nice.

“Auroro,” the voice of the goddess echoed in my mind again. “The power that you gave birth to, the one that caught even my attention, is one that revolves around passion and lust. It affords you the ability to take hold of these ideas as if they were rock and water. The ability to take these ideas in hand as if they were stone, and manipulate them into the shape you willed as if they were water. What a romantic power, no? Conquering the world would not be out of the question for one who reigned over another’s passion and fantasies, and all the emotions attached.”

“Hm hm hm,” I couldn’t help but laugh to myself at the prospect of being able to use my power to claim whatever I wanted. I hoped there would still be a challenge.

“What are you laughing at, Creepo?” said a now softened, familiar voice. Rynissie had awoken again, although she had not yet worked up the courage to face me again.

“Just had a funny thought is all.”

“Oh,” she replied, lightly squeezing my arm, her body was still buzzing from our experience, “I can’t believe I let all of that happen,” she said trying to swallow the shame that had her cheeks ablaze.

“You were amazing, from start to finish.”

She had no words, only silence sans a heart beating faster. She searched her thoughts for something to continue with and eventually settled on a natural question, “So, what was this contract I agreed to while I was out of my mind? It felt like there was something more going on beyond the terms you said aloud.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” I tossed back. “The contract we made was one of partnership. I’m very useless by myself. The contract that I can offer, I was told, would allow me access to your pool of mana. To help me be less useless.”

“Told? You were told?” Rynissie’s head twitched as if she wanted to turn around, but she stayed her current course, “You didn’t say aloud that you would be able to access my mana…”

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“Are you not happy with that?

“Oh, no. Mana sharing was what I wanted from you too. More importantly, who gave you the authority to make your contract?”

“The goddess that cast me into your world.”

Rynissie turned around instantly, as if to see if she could catch me in a lie. “You run with Gods, Creepo?”

“No, just the one. Would you happen to know her?” I asked, suddenly curious, “She’s a goddess of love and passion.”

“Ha, do I know a Goddess! Let me tell you something,” a fierce fire burned in Rynissie’s eyes as she inched her face closer to make sure I heard her, “Creepo, there are more Gods than there are races in this world. A pantheon with who knows how many Gods for every race, or so they say.” she said, rolling her eyes at every utterance of gods. “There’s many a god of love and passion that many most likely don’t even know exist.”

“Hmm. I see. Collecting multiple assets is the best way forward.”

“Pardon?” Rynissie replied, confused at my sudden conjecture.

“Nevermind. Back to the topic at hand, the goddess I met simply told me she would allow me the ability to forge a mana sharing contract with her as witness and authority. I assume the semantics are just a part of the magic.

“Yes, contracts require witnesses and authority, authority is what grants you the right to make contracts and the witness determines to what degree a contract can be enforced. Did your goddess tell you anything else about what you can contract?”

“Aside from the basic things like, ‘contract people to be your allies’, no. She did tell me to make contracts without abandon as the denizens of your world are compelled to live by them.”

“That is very true,” she interjected before a realization set in, “Wait, Creepo!” she yelled into my face, “Isn’t that too vague? ‘Contract people to be your allies?’ What does that even mean? What are the penalties? ‘Contract people to be your allies’ is not the same as mana sharing! There’s clearly more to the contract than I knew I agreed to!”

I stared at her blankly as I thought about her words. “That sounds kind of shady? Is it possible to agree to contracts you don’t know the contents of?” I asked.

“It is shady!” she replied, making sure to emphasize how bad of a move it was. She scowled at my blank face and continued, “It would only happen when the authority and the conditions were granted ahead of time. Which doesn’t happen very often, and when it does, the contractor, that is, you, would at least be decent enough to tell the other party all the conditions! Like when we made the wager. Our authority and witness were the elder spirits of this forest and the conditions were said aloud to the authority so that they knew what to enforce!”

“Oh. That’s really convenient… I wonder what the conditions are,”I replied, impressed at such a useful system to guarantee trustworthiness.

An awe-struck smile was not what Rynissie wanted to see from however, “Don’t you get it, Creepo?” Rynissie yelled, grabbing onto my cheeks and tugging to warp my smile, “The goddess you dealt with wasn’t just the authority and witness, she may have been the condition setter too! This has to be the number one thing you have to avoid with contracts! You can’t let one party have all the power!”

“This just seems like a good deal for me,” I replied honestly from within her grip, “I don’t have to worry about the details and can just do what I want.”

Rynissie was wide-eyed at my response. She grit her teeth and tugged on my cheeks even harder, “Are you a fool?! Creepo, what if she put a malicious condition in there, like the people contracted by you forfeit their souls to her? What if she owns your soul?!”

“Well that would be bad. I don’t think she did that though.”

“On what grounds?”

“She was beautiful.” Rynissie went wide-eyed, her mouth threatening to hit the floor, “Oh, you’re beautiful too of course. I’m blessed,” I said, so that she could be reassured in knowing she was beautiful in her own right.

“Th-That’s not the point!” she replied, flustered. The sight was worth the ignorance. “Okay fine, do you have any kind of sense of what has changed so far?” she asked, reclaiming her composure by focusing on the task at hand.

“I do sense that something changed. When you said yes, I got a much better sense of ‘you’ as something that was ‘mine’. It feels like something of mine took root in you. It feels like there’s new functions coming from our connection.”

“Huh. That sounds creepy. That’s also not something I agreed to.”

“I think it is though. You’re my asset, so it only makes sense that I would have an awareness of you that helps me in taking care of you as I would any asset.”

“Who would, in their right mind, let someone make such vague conditions,” she responded, stunned at the logic.

“I do believe she is a sadistic goddess.”

“Do you think I could kill you?”

“Maybe not? You wouldn’t be much of an ally if you did.”

“Do you think I could take mana from you?”

“You could try.”

“Huh. You don’t have much mana for me to siphon.”

“I was told that I would be pretty useless in the typical arenas. All I’m good for is seducing, she said.”

“And even that, you’re miserable at.”

“Was good enough for you,” I sniped back.

Her mouth and hands dropped at the comeback, “Don’t get a big head! Just because I jumped doesn’t mean everyone else will.” Rynissie frowned to herself as she seemed to run through the sequence of events that led her down this road. That road led to her demeanor breaking down once again as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She needed to change the subject and realized she was lying in a strange material, “Wh-What is this anyway?” she started, tugging at the material we were wrapped in.

“Something made from my power. Is it uncomfortable?”

Rynissie looked back at me and her gaze softened at my earnest response, “N-no. It’s creepy, but it feels safe, I suppose.” She looked away as she spoke. Kindness must have been something unusual for her. “Hey.” Her voice shifted from flustered to tense within a beat. “What’s this on your arm? She supported herself off my arm for me to pull it from beneath her.

“Can you see them now?” I asked, realizing what freaked her out.

“So this is the countdown to your demise?” she said, reading the numbers. Her voice grew slightly quieter, “Have I helped?” she asked, shyly.

“Most certainly! It seems, if I’m reading this right, you’ve given me sixteen more days!” I exclaimed, looking straight into her eyes. I was so happy my expiry date shifted, I could have kissed Rynissie then and there. She however seemed to have felt my intent and inched away slightly, breaking eye contact.

“Just sixteen? I’m worth more than that.”

“It’s hard to tell without a comparison. The goddess did tell me that the amount of time I would get was proportional to the value of the partner’s soul, but we don’t know what’s considered high value.”

“So you’re saying you want to violate some other poor girl? I’m not enough for you?” Rynissie snapped back, motioning to karate chop me over the head. Our new bond however afforded me a strange premonition however.

I elegantly caught the incoming hand, “I think you’re priceless,” I said, again looking straight into Rynissie’s eye, gently squeezing her hand, sending some warmth into her system. “I should have gotten enough time to live three lifetimes at least from our time together.”

“Wow, you make a girl feel so special,” Rynissie replied, rolling her eyes, her demeanor and tone trying to hide the fact that her heart rate was rising.

A spark of devilish deviousness ignited, I made another move.

“H-huh?!” Rynissie yelped. Her world had suddenly turned. The hand I stopped was pressed against the ground, my cowl the only thing between her hand and earth. The rest of my body was over top of hers, my gaze locked at her own stunned eyes. Only a deer, blinded, could be more stunned.

“You’re my first asset, Rynissie. I’ll treat you as well as you deserve to be treated.”

“W-well, you certainly know how to make a girl not feel like an object, Creepo,” she said, trying to hide her anxiety behind the thin veil of sarcasm.

I flashed a smile and descended to her neck, nibbling at it gently. Rynissie let out a baited breath before pulling her hand out of mine and pressing both against my chest. Pushed away I studied her expressions.

“W-wait, here? Again?” she asked flustered and red.

“Yes,” I said, “I take what I want, when I want.” My lonely hand found its way to her face’s side, fingers tucking themselves away behind her ear and hair. The warmth of the touch lured her face closer to my palm, though I would never tell her lest her pride torture her.

Eyes close, she accepted our intimacy, and I in turn, closed in. Our lips met. The hint of sweetness and the smell of mint tickled my senses. Rynissie’s eyes were closed tight, the sudden kiss catching her by surprise. Behind closed eyelids, all she could see were mesmerizing stars promising to carry her away to a realm of new sensations.

I gently pulled my lips away from hers. She followed my trail, chasing the touch until she could raise her head no further. Her eyes opened at the separation; she looked like a dove, denied the sky. My thumb rubbed her tattooed cheek in tiny circles, a small consolation for the sudden parting.

My other hand, hidden beneath the tender moment, climbed up to her chest. It sought only one thing; the release of Rynissie’s shackled chest.

Rynissie caught wind of the daring hand’s fumbling, and sense returned to her eyes. She had remembered who I was, and why she shouldn’t be carried away by my pace. My heart almost shook from the thought that I had ruined the sweet moment, but that did not dissuade me.

A smile crept onto my face as Rynissie’s exasperation mounted.

“Are you serious?” she conveyed.

“Always,” I gestured.

“It was such a nice moment,” she regretted.

“The moment isn’t lost.” Our silent words reached the other, carried by our shifting faces. Rynissie’s face now was one of disappointment and skepticism.