Lazy Salvation

Seraphine thought she would awaken in Solmara. Instead, she found herself adrift in a colorless void.

Her thoughts were clear… and yet strangely muddled. Even so, an overwhelming sense of relaxation settled deep within her, one she had never known before.

BEHOLD—

The ancient voice should have shattered that stillness. It did not.

"Big sis, congratulations on surviving. Even if my master did most of the work… you weren't bad yourself," a young voice echoed across the void. If Seraphine had to guess, its owner could not have been older than thirteen.

"At least you supported him on the emotional side. There was a bit of a hiccup in the middle, but I'll forgive you!"

'Thank you…?' she responded instinctively, though she was uncertain if the response reached its intended recipient.

"Now then! Let me show you the fate of the original woman you inhabited."

And so, she was shown.

She watched the young nun walk the same path she once had.

But where Seraphine had seen Ashen as her other half… the Primordial was nothing short of an eldritch horror to the poor woman.

Fear defined every interaction.

Even after he drank her blood and became her so-called devoted lover, that fear did not fade.

Instead, it deepened and gave birth to something worse. Disgust followed, then by revulsion, before her prominent emotion settled on a festering loathing.

Together, they hollowed her life, and in turn, his, now that he had come to see her as the center of his affections.

The Primordial tried. Again and again, he sought to make her love him, but he was a creature born of callousness, treading a path he could not understand. And the constant erasure of her memories every three months offered him no mercy.

Failure piled upon failure. Each rejection wore at him, and each concealed trace of disdain bruised his pride, and that, he did not know how to mend.

And so, his love twisted. What once sought devotion turned… abusive. From that moment, everything spiraled.

The vampire found himself trapped within the most toxic bond of his long existence. More than once, he considered wiping his own memory, erasing it all.

But he never dared. Because despite everything… he still loved her. And so, those suffocating emotions sought other outlets. His subordinates, his kin, and the nun herself.

All of them bore the weight, until even that grew stale.

Desperate, he turned his efforts outward. He knew the ones responsible for the loop had to be near.

So he destroyed and destroyed… until nothing living remained within his domain.

…Yet the loop endured.

That was when he gave up.

Everything else may have faded, but not his obsession. And not her hatred.

To be hated is unpleasant, even by one you do not care for. But to be hated by someone you place above your own life… That was something else entirely.

Loop after loop, the weight of it threatened to suffocate him; until, at last, he found a solution.

Numb it.

He killed everything within himself. His longing, his anticipation, his expectations, even his pride. In the end, only the obsession remained. That… he could not destroy.

But with nothing left to give it form, no emotion to carry it, no warmth to sustain it, and with its recipient locked in endless hatred…

He was left with nothing.

Forced to love; forced to watch. He watched and watched until even watching lost its meaning.

So he closed his eyes… and surrendered himself to sloth. And that… was when they struck.

Just like that… with a flower and a heart, an entire race was erased.

Seraphine's tears were running hot down her cheeks by the time the visions ended. Now, she confirmed all over again how lucky she was that the person she had to deal with was Ashen himself, and not anyone else.

The Beholder's spirit did not give her time to catch her feelings, moving on to the next event.

"Now for changing her fate as you had… You will receive a corresponding reward." The young voice turned hesitant for the first time. "You can reject your boon if you so wish."

[Innate Skill] Heartbearer Thrall:

A heart has been received.

This heart saved you from an ironclad fate, but fate is unhappy for being denied its natural course, and so, you shall bear the price of its unhappiness.

Traits:

Heartbearer

You carry the heart of another within you.

Your life persists through it. Your existence is sustained by its presence.

Thrall

The owner of the heart you carry exerts absolute authority over you.

Their will overrides your own.

Possession Link

Your body and senses remain your own until commanded otherwise.

At the master's will, control may be seized without resistance.

Return

Upon death, the heart and all bound to it return to its origin.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to NovelFire for the genuine story.

*

Seraphine's mind cleared enough to read through the skill's description, but despite the 'skill' being nothing more than a slave brand, she merely blinked curiously.

"I guess being too exceptional also has its downsides. The young nun's fate was unlike that of others. Normally, no matter how doomed someone was, there was always a thread of fate where they survived, but not her."

"Across every timeline and every thread of fate, she had only a single end: death."

"You changing that had some very unforeseen reactions… so, sorry?"

'Well… even though there are no benefits, it's kind of romantic to be so totally his anyway, right? I accep—'

"Wait, wait! That's not all, big sis, haha. I was just trying to scare you, but I didn't think you'd accept even this, sheesh… dad sure is a sinful man."

'Dad…?'

"Against all expectations, you guys were able to move even an Existential Principle, making it pay attention to your plight. I'm impressed!"

The young voice turned mischievous. "As for what this attention entails… well, Chastity decided to meddle with fate, hehe…"

"And here are the results of that meddling~"

[Innate Skill] Heartbound Thrall

A concept has been moved.

Chastity had always been unyielding. It did not waver, nor did it grant exceptions. And yet… it did.

What was lost should have been forfeit. But the one who received it stood before the concept… and fulfilled what could not be fulfilled.

An impossibility, acknowledged.

He displayed a purity not of preservation, but of intent. A boundless devotion. An unmeasured loyalty that did not falter, even beneath corruption.

Beneath the rot, beneath the contradictions, the origin remained unchanged.

He did not move for grand desire, hollow longing, or selfish claim.

Only a single, innocent impulse…

To protect.

And in that simplicity… the concept yielded, granting him, and him alone, the sole claim to your chastity.

Traits:

One Master

You may designate a single master of your chastity. Union with the chosen will no longer invoke the concept's punishment.

Master: Ashen Hart

Heart Slave

Your master has given you his heart. In return, you relinquish all that you are.

The one who holds your heart may command you without restriction.

Bound

What you possess is no longer yours, including your soul.

Upon death, your soul will return to your master rather than pass on.

Should your chastity be threatened, the same fate will be enforced.

It was never yours to begin with.

This trait amplifies all connections between you and your master.

Union

To unite with your master is to please the concept of Chastity itself.

Through continued union, your affinity with the concept will deepen over time.

*

'I'll still be a slave though…?'

"Since when do you care about that?" Seraphine felt the voice turn exasperated, but she now confirmed that it could read her thoughts at least.

"I bet you're even happier with this arrangement, you crazy big sis. Can't believe you'd call slavery romantic…"

'Well, that's true. I don't have a problem being hubby's little slave, and now, I can have his body whenever I want, which is everything I could ask for.'

"Crazy…! Hey! Look closer at the Bound trait… That one gives you a chance at revival even after death! It's huge…"

Seraphine would have let out a giggle if she could.

"And don't get me started on the last one! You can theoretically reach a hundred percent affinity with a concept! How crazy is that? Even my master is not at 100% with Sloth."

'Can I accept it now…?'

"Sure… sure…"

The voice sounded like it had given up reasoning with the love-brained woman and shooed her away.

ASSESSMENT: EXCEPTIONAL

That was the last thing Seraphine heard before darkness swallowed her.

'Hopefully, there won't be any other surprises now…'

…

…

…

***

"...father?"

The voice that had woken him up felt familiar, but distant at the same time, and Ashen's environment jolted his memory enough to know who it belonged to.

'Oh, if it isn't my dear Beholder… from your voice, I reckon you are not a kid anymore?'

"Yes! It's me all grown up now~ did you miss me?" The careful voice turned excited at once.

'That depends.'

"On?" the Beholder asked eagerly.

'Are you going to throw your 'dad' in another hellish situation next time…?'

"Uhh…"

'Am I not your master? You call me dad, so you must at least wish me no harm… but I don't understand… why did you do it?'

'Why did you throw me in that era?'

'Why did you put me through all that suffering?'

'And most of all…'

"Why did you put her LIFE ON THE LINE?"

Ashen's rage surged with each word he spoke, and when he reached the last question, his emotions even broke through the haze, making his wrathful shout echo across the white expanse.

"..."

Silence reigned for a brief moment before the Beholder's own voice broke it.

"D-Daddy… I'm sorry… I'm so, so s-sorryy… hic—huu…!"

Ashen's rage evaporated at the unexpected reaction. It was as if a kid was trying to act mature, but a scolding from her parents had made her burst into tears.

He was speechless.

"Actually… hic… I'm merely the skill's spirit. I know many things, but… h-hic… I can't control anything… huuhe…"

The crying voice turned sorrowful. "It's father's desire that influences it… You wanted to heal your circuits, and you wanted to solve Big Sis's problem… that was the only way to solve both with the amount of mana we had available…"

"I'm sorry… please… forgive me…"

'...'

Now it was his turn to feel bad. It turned out it wasn't the spirit that was responsible for his suffering, but only his greed. Was the seal not working correctly? Why had he snapped so harshly anyway?

'I understand… haah… I'm sorry. Please stop crying.'

"Mh… hic… ah—!"

'C'mon… don't cry… daughter?'

"..."

It seemed the last word did the trick.

"Call me that again."

'Daughter… forgive me.'

"...Okay… only if you keep calling me that."

'Deal!'

Ashen heaved a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe that he had to coax a child first thing after going back.

"Father… do you want to receive your reward now…?"

'Yes, thank you, my dear daughter…'

"Hehe… okay, here goes."

A drop of blood materialized through the space, staining it with a crimson color.

"Tada!"

'The Origin Blood.' Ashen recognized it immediately.

"That's right~ now you have two choices, father. One, find a way to purge all the conflicting concepts you already comprehended and fuse with this drop of blood to follow the blood concept path, and two…"

"Let me handle it! I'll use all the energy, vitality, and concepts it holds to heal you the best I can! I guarantee your soul and circuits will go back in tiptop shape, and maybe even more!"

She eagerly asked, "So? What will it be?"

'I'll accept the healing. Thank you, dear.'

"Okay~ leave it to me."

There was no way he was forsaking Sloth for another concept this late into the game. Not to mention his affinity with it.

Accepting the healing was more practical.

"While you wait, let me give you your assessment and show you the original timeline."

ASSESSMENT: TRANSCENDENT!

'What's the difference between assessments anyway…?'

"I'm glad you asked! It goes like this: excellent, exceptional, magnificent, and then transcendent!" she added mischievously, "even I don't know what comes after that, so you have to do better next time if you want to know, hehe."

Ashen did not get to answer that one since his vision was plunged into the life of a miserable vampire.

***

'Thank god…'

When she opened her eyes again, this time Seraphine finally found herself back to where she belonged. She was right where she disappeared, in Ashen's office.

The second thing she noticed was her physical state. She was filled with so much power that it almost scared her.

"Why is this…?"

The answer was found among the many notifications on her system window.

[Path Skill Ecstatic Bond Evolved: Eternal Fulfillment]

[━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━]

Eternal Fulfillment

Establish a permanent bond of pleasure and harmony with a chosen individual.

Through this connection, pleasurable sensations are shared between both parties. The physical strength of the stronger link is fully shared to the weaker as long as the bond is held.

At the same time, pleasure is no longer isolated; it is merged, amplified, and distributed across both existences.

What is felt by one is experienced by the other.

What is gained by one is never truly held alone.

[━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━]

"That explains it…" Seraphine realised that her new innate skill was already at work, but she would have never realised that the Bound trait would bring about such an outrageous skill…

—!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM—!!

A massive explosion brought her out of her musings. She rushed toward the nearest window, and what she saw made her instantly pale.

Dozens of kilometers away… she saw a black tide encroaching from every side.

The Narkals were invading.