Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
As his ragged breath calmed down and his consciousness returned in full from the land of pleasure it was previously lost in, Demian’s hand absentmindedly started caressing the naked back of his lover. The latter was lying unconscious on his chest with her body shivering from time to time, her breathing out of sync and her body covered in sweat. Those were not long-lasting consequences, though. Indeed, after a quick scan of his Divine Sense, he noticed that as her cultivation base improved, the strain on her body gradually vanished until it was completely gone and she was as good as new. Better even since she went from the Low Fifth Level to the Sixth one and was well on her way to attaining the Peak if his calculation was correct. However, he was not sure that she would be able to reach the Seventh Level directly.
After all, going from Sixth to Seventh meant that one went from the Mid Level to the High Level of a particular Rank, and it was a big gulf for anyone to cross, even for Body Strenghtening cultivators. Of course, he was pretty much an exception to that rule. The reason being that, with his Perk, nothing but a lack of Spiritual Energy could stop him from reaching higher Levels or Ranks. Or so he concluded from his two-month observations. ‘With her using both my Physiology and Love Bond Perk, it shouldn’t be long before she breaks through again.’ He thought briefly, feeling joyful about the fact that his Perks not only helped him tremendously in his cultivation journey but also allowed his close ones to follow along, although not necessarily how he expected. ‘There may be some complication in the future...’ The images of his Aunt and oldest cousin brought a wry smile to his face before the previous evening’s event surfaced in his mind, erasing both the smile he previously sported and some of his good mood.
Feeling a bit mentally tired, a sigh escaped his lips. ‘I think I need a drink.’ He decided before starting to move the petite redhead from her position to the mattress while being extra careful to avoid waking her up. The process of moving her body went well until she completely separated from him. At that point, she reflexively grabbed his arm while mumbling. “Don’t... Don’t leave me...” Feeling his heart tighten in pain at her sleep-talking, he swiftly began to stroke her silky deep-red hair while whispering some reassuring words. “I’m not leaving you, Love. I’m just going downstairs. You should sleep some more. You’re clearly exhausted.” A long moment passed before he felt her body loosen up.
After giving her a soft kiss on her forehead, he noticed the small but happy smile on her face, which vanished the concern weighing on his mind. Leaving the bed carefully, he then stood up quietly and covered Sera’s exhausted form with the blanket. After reaching his wardrobe, his body suddenly froze as his mind registered his body’s current state. ‘I definitely need a shower.’ He instantly decided. To be fair, the strong smell coming from him came mostly from the sleeping redhead rather than himself, the reason being the extremely low amount of impurity contaminating his body. Of course, that was in comparison to an average human. Even the small amount of sweat his body excreted had a mostly neutral odor, at least to his senses. As for any other smelly excretions, they became almost non-existent after his recent ‘evolution’. In other words, no more bathroom breaks for him. ‘What a relief! No pun intended.’ He thought, mildly amused while turning on the hot water in the bathroom linked to his bedroom.
After a quick shower, he put on the set of casual clothes he prepared before moving back to his room. As he was about to leave the room, however, he noticed from the corner of his eyes his guitar lying forgotten on his desk. “I haven’t practiced for a while, have I...?” He mumbled, feeling indecisive for a brief moment. “Might as well...” He added as he moved to the instrument, grabbed it, and finally left his shared bedroom. Closing the door cautiously, he then walked through the long corridor, climbed down the staircase, and, as his feet started leading him toward the kitchen, he caught a small noise coming from the Balcony. With a quick sweep of his Divine Sense, he instantly found his oldest cousin sitting on one of the deck chairs outside, looking somewhat conflicted. His not-so-discreet scan startled the woman for a brief second before she calmed down and resumed her quiet contemplation.
Chuckling briefly at her reaction, Demian went to the fridge, grabbed two beers, and then left for the balcony where he plopped down on the chair beside Bryn. Throwing a brief glance toward her, he noted her lost in thought, despite being certain that she knew of his presence. After all, sneaking up on a cultivator, even at the Chi Gathering Rank, was extremely hard. Smiling gently at the beautiful red-haired and golden-skinned woman, he carefully set his guitar on the ground before popping the bottles open by pushing against the caps with his thumbnails. Holding one of the beers in his cousin’s direction, he calmly stated. “Here.” His words woke her up from her contemplation, her eyelids flickering briefly. Her gaze then moved to his hand holding the bottle, before shifting to the gentle smile he sported, and finally ended up meeting his deep blue eyes.
A few seconds of silence later, she exclaimed. “I don’t drink.” Before turning her head back toward the agitated sea that was visible in the distance. Shaking his head while his grin turned amused, he remarked. “With your current physique, I doubt that even a barrel of beer would have any effect on you.” Noticing her eyes moving back in his direction, he added. “Pretty please?” The way he phrased his question made her lips twitch subconsciously before she let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine.” She then swiftly grabbed the bottle from his outstretched hand, taking a quick seep from the bitter drink. “Good stuff, right?” Demian asked with a joyful grin on his face. “You forgot to cheer, though.” He added, prompting the other woman to clink her bottle with his. She also threw a snarky comment while she was at it.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“It’s barely okay.” Shaking his head, Demian replied. “And it’s a craft beer. Imagine if it was the cheap stuff. It’d be undrinkable for us two. Although it was already undrinkable for me before that.” A few subdued giggles escaped the muscular woman who remarked softly. “I don’t remember you being so hyped up about beers before your previous life’s memories returned.” With a reminiscing grin, the young man replied in a similar tone. “That’s one of the only things my previous life’s father ‘left’ me...” As the emotionally charged words left his lips, the two fell silent, sipping their beer while admiring the dim but soothing scene of the churning waves hitting the shore below and listening to the occasional seabirds flying over the dark waters.
After the silence stretched for a while longer, Bryn suddenly asked. “How do you look so relaxed about everything?” Before he could say anything, however, she quickly added. “I don’t mean to criticize you, but I’m just... I’m just having a difficult time... You know...” Shaking his head, his gaze fell on her face, the two making eye contact. Noticing the confusion hidden in her eyes, he smiled in her direction before turning his head back to face the sea, not noticing the tension building up in his body. “I think you’re mistaken about something. It’s not that I’ve ‘dealt’ with it, it’s more like my physiology perk numbed the physical manifestation of what I’m feeling.” “What do you mean?” She asked, puzzled. After downing the rest of his beer and setting the empty bottle on the ground, he explained in a strained voice. “I’m not certain but that’s the feeling I get. Think about it: Any injuries will disappear and end up making me stronger. That works perfectly with physical injuries...”
His words lit a light of realization in her eyes as she softly commented. “But how do you deal with mental trauma?” Nodding his head, Demian continued. “Exactly. Don’t get me wrong, I did notice an improvement in every mental aspect. But the memories didn’t disappear...” As the words left his lips, his gaze subconsciously moved to his hands, which had started shaking slightly. “I guess it’s the ‘perk’ of having an almost perfect memory... When I close my eyes...” As soon as he closed his eyes, his hands started shaking faster before gradually calming down. However, the shaking increased again and his strange bodily reaction repeated again and again while he continued talking. “... I can feel my hand holding your gun before my finger pulled the trigger and those three men died. I can also feel my fist going through that guy’s torso, or my fingers gripping that woman’s throat until I crushed it as easily as if I stomped on an insect...”
At that point, his entire body was part of this strange cycle of shivering and calming down, while his mind was going through a similar torment. The disorienting ordeal lasted until two strong arms circled around his back and pulled him into a hug. The sensation against his own chest told him instantly whose arms it was, prompting him to embrace her back. A few seconds later, when the pain truly left him, he commented. “Thanks, Bryn.” “Sure.” “I didn’t take you as the hug-initiating type of woman, though.” He added playfully, using humor to calm his raging emotions. Chuckling slightly, the giant redhead replied with her own joke. “I blame you for that. I think I’ve been infected with your hugging disease.”
This time, it was Demian who burst out laughing before replying. “Hugging disease... Damn, I’m definitely stealing that from you!” The two’s banter helped him relax completely, leaving the two enough presence of mind to notice the awkward position they were in. It was not the hug itself, but instead the half-sitting position they were in. Almost in sync, the two let go of each other before their eyes met. Realizing that they were both thinking the same thing, an amused grin surfaced on both of their faces before the young man shook his head gently and exclaimed. “I’m sorry.” His apology confused his muscular cousin who asked. “About what?” Scratching his chin subconsciously, he explained.
“I was supposed to comfort you and you ended up being the one who comforted me. I’m really useless...” Lowering his eyes in shame made him miss the warm look on the woman’s face turning playful when she started speaking. “You’re really dumb.” Lifting his eyes to meet hers, he kept silent as she continued. “Do you really think that just because you’ve become much stronger physically you’re now perfect?” Shaking his head, he tried to explain himself. “Of course not! I just felt like you needed my help so...” “So you’re not allowed to need help at the same time, right?” She cut him off, rendering him speechless at how accurate her guess was. Gazing at his face silently for a few seconds, she then closed her eyes while letting out a small sigh. She then opened her eyes before claiming.
“I understand what’s going through your mind, but my advice is this: Thinking like that will get you nowhere!” Pausing for a brief moment, she then added. “I’ve been doing the exact same thing my entire life. The whole ‘having strength gives you responsibility’ and ‘My family needs my power to protect them, so I can never be weak’ bullshit.” She air quoted in frustration. Meeting his gaze, she questioned. “Do you know the reason why I’ve started thinking differently?” She asked him seriously. He had no answer to her question and thus only shook his head. “It was you. You were the reason why I started thinking that anyone can have their moment of weakness even if they’re strong.”
Her words started to worm themselves out into his mind, making him realize how ironic it was that he reproached his Aunt and oldest cousin for something that he did himself. Before he was able to say anything, however, she added. “If it wasn’t for your transformation around two months ago, I don’t know how long I could have held on mentally. So, thank you, Demian.” The intensity in her gaze made him avoid her gaze while a light embarrassed blush surfaced on his cheeks. “Don’t mention it. If it wasn’t for you being there, I really don’t know where all of us would be. I should be the one thanking you.” A light giggle escaped her lips before she mumbled in such a low tone that, was he not a cultivator, he would be incapable of hearing anything. “Mom was right. He’s really cute when he gets embarrassed...” Turning his head back to face her, he asked, thinking that he misheard her. “What did you say?”
With a perfect poker face, the redhead replied. “I said that the four of us are a team, so you can’t bear everything yourself. You’re the one who said that, right?” Feeling amused at how skillful she became at changing subjects, he briefly thought. ‘They’re not sisters for nothing.’ After which he responded. “Fair enough. I’ll try, but I can’t promise I’ll get it right instantly, though.” “No worries. I’ll just keep reminding you until it’s completely etched into your mind.” Chuckling briefly, he teased back. “I’ll be sure to do the same with you, then.” The two then started bantering for a bit before the conversation turned a bit heavier when they started conversing about the recent events, sharing the negative emotions they brought to them. Although he was not certain about her, but for him, it helped tremendously in alleviating the guilt and horror he previously felt. They were not completely gone, however, he knew that it was just a matter of time before he freed himself from that weight.
After a while, the two fell silent and simply appreciated the night view, with the city lights giving a surreal color to the dark sky, while the waves kept restlessly crashing against the sandy beach below.