In the heart of the primary forest, amid the vast expanse of broken and barren ground stretching for miles, sat a man. d in a ck suit adorned with grey embroidery, he sat in a lotus position, eyes closed.


    The passing bridge fluttered his ck hair, and his shut eyebrows trembled with focus.


    "Lady Drishti, by the way, why are you here?" Regina inquired, standing at half a mile''s distance from the seated man, who was surrounded by four figures protecting him.


    "I needed to see your reaction," Drishti replied while looking in the same direction as Regina. She slightly inclined her head and murmured, causing Regina''s expression to change, which Esme beside her noticed.


    "...What reaction?" Regina, though looking straight ahead, slightly nced at the lean woman, feeling perplexed about what she might be nning once again.


    "It''s S. U. R. P. R. I.


    S. E," Drishti spoke with a poised tone, her lips curving as she took warm breaths to reveal each word sequentially.


    ''....'' Regina again turned her attention toward her liege, ignoring the woman''s words which she didn''t understand.


    "What are you doing now?" Regina''s sight found Esme''s hand lifting up, with her palm directed towards Ryuk, who was seated half a mile away from them, prompting her to curiously inquire.


    "Creating an illusion around him," Esme stated nkly, pointing in that specific direction.


    ''...What is happening here?'' Regina was unable to understand both women''s words, as she thought it was simply body reconstruction.


    .


    .


    .


    ''That sensation,'' Ryuk thought, focusing on the same sensation he had felt yesterday. Having already gone through the pain, a flow of energy now moved through his sr plexus to his body organs, establishing a pathway.


    Yesterday, due to a slight miscalction caused by relying too much on the *Shunya*, he had hastened the process and hurried in channeling the energy without giving his sr plexus time to cool down.


    But today, he would take it slow and maintain that sensation in a continuous, steady flow.


    ''First, Ether,'' he thought, focusing on his heart where his Ether core''s two circles spun in opposite directions while creating and umting Ether.


    Channeling that energy directly towards his sr plexus instead of storing it in his energy core, he felt a slight warmth in his veins as the energy made its way through them.


    ''...Slower,'' he reminded himself. The moment a single drop fell into his sr plexus, a clear tsunami of energy bombarded the area, causing him to control the flow and prevent excess energy leakage.


    "You sure he won''t explode?" Sam whispered in Mae''s ear, looking towards the man seated in a lotus position. The man emanated a translucent aura with a heat haze forming around him, prompting Sam to conclude that the man was soon going to act like an energy bomb.


    flick!


    "Oww," Sam muttered, rubbing his forehead after a sharp flick. He instantly red back at the woman in a white dress with golden pupils ring at him.


    "Say anything else, and you''ll have to eat the food I make," Esme threatened, turning her gaze back in the same direction. Sam, understanding the clear threat, felt his eyes tremble and his hands instinctively cover his mouth, dreading the thought of eating his elder sister''s cooking.


    "Prepare yourselves!"


    A clear cry resonated through the area, reaching even them half a mile away. The four figures surrounding the seated man instantly burst into action, creating a thick wall of energy to contain the rampaging energy leaking from the young man''s body.


    At a visible rate, the body of the seated man began to glow a deep white, with several nerve-like cracks forming all over his skin.


    As his outer skin slowly shredded and turned to dust, a cocoon of the same shape as the seated man formed over his body.


    In that fleeting moment, unnoticed by anyone else, as a single piece of energy shard fell from the face of the young man revealing his newly formed skin, Esme''s figure teleported from that ce, shotting in his direction.


    This was instantaneous, thanks to her tiara providing the ability to teleport, allowing her to react swiftly.


    Not understanding the reason behind Esme''s actions and mistaking it for some attack, Regina''s hand instinctively went to her sword hilt, clenching it tightly before bing static, watching the scene unfold in front of her.


    ''Finally,'' Ryuk thought, unaware of the outside events.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    BOOM!


    He clenched his fists and broke through the outer wall of the cocoon that had formed around him, causing it to instantly burst and scatter with a shockwave as he tried to open his eyes.


    "NO! DON''T DO IT!"


    Even before he could fully react, a familiar cry in a soothing voice reached his ears, and he felt his face being covered by two hands.


    Warm, delicate fingers glided abruptly over his now transformed skin, preventing him from opening his eyes, though he managed to take a peek.


    Badump


    In that fleeting moment, his eyes met two golden ones, so close he could hear the racing heartbeats of their owner. The widened gaze looking back at him was a blur due to her fingers attempting to cover his eyes.


    It was a small struggle where he stood momentarily naked, his face covered by Esme.


    His clothes had been shredded to pieces in that fleeting moment but quickly restored to their usual form—thanks to their status as artifacts.


    Indeed, his clothes were not meant to withstand force but had properties of restoration among other abilities, so they restored quickly enough to go unnoticed by most.


    However, this wasn''t the case for that innocent woman.


    Initially, Esme, saw how his skin appeared even smoother, more radiant, and with a subtle stubble causing her to arrive and cover his face to hide him from the other two women present here, preventing them from falling for him.


    But, her luck...


    thump thump


    ''No... was that thing...?'' Esme thought, who kept her gaze downward to avoid being influenced herself a moment ago. But in doing so, her eyes fell upon something that sent a jolt through her, unmistakably masculine and undeniably intimate. Hastily lifting her gaze to stave off a heart attack, her eyes met his.


    Only she knew how torn she felt inside due to this man, whose fate was tangled with many like her—ording to Mae''s prediction.


    "If you want to cover my face, then I don''t have a problem always walking like this," Ryuk teased, unaware of her reasons. He dressed in his restored ck suit and pants, which took only 0.07 seconds to return to their peak state, but it was enough for Esme to see something which she appreciated but not expected.


    "Wear your mask," Esme murmured, turning her gaze downward to hide the crimson blush and the warmth shrouding her cheeks and flushed ears.


    Her heartbeat had already reached its threshold, and her hands, instead of steadying, caressed his face as if trying to etch the shape of his nose, eyes, and ears.


    Swish


    A ck mask slowly materialized on his face, emerging from his inventory as he shut his mouth, feeling Esme''s fingers almost tearing his lips. He couldn''t help but say, "Can you control your fingers?"


    "Huh? Y-yes," Esme stammered, embarrassed as she pulled her hands away. In an instant, her body disappeared, hidden behind an illusion of her own creation.


    ''...She...'' Ryuk couldn''t sense her for a moment, confirming that his passive ability still wasn''t active enough to nullify her illusions but due to his senses, he somewhat felt her presence nearby him.


    Before he could think further, a hand rested on his shoulder. He knew it belonged to Drishti, who stepped forward with a smile and said, "You are definitely an Incubus, kiddo."