A Sultry Dream

To his surprise, Dania had not really left. After making sure Lu Guan was asleep, she took off her coat and quietly slipped under the covers, pressing her cheek tightly against his back as she felt the rhythm of his heartbeat.

She slipped her hands under his arms, gently patting him in a steady rhythm as though soothing a baby while feeling the warmth of his body with her arms. It was as if, only by holding on to the whole world this way, could the girl who had once fallen into the void and been rescued feel completely at ease.

Her lips parted slightly as she murmured indistinct words, as though pouring out her feelings to Lu Guan, or perhaps talking to herself.

"Phew... get plenty of rest, okay~"

"Honestly... did you think I didn't know you'd been sneaking off to do dangerous things without telling me~?"

"Last night... I woke up in the middle of the night and found you weren't beside me. You gave me such a fright~"

"People's eyes don't lie... you're not the only one who can spot a lie. Besides, you're really... really bad at lying~"

"But then again... a few little secrets between lovers can make things all the sweeter and set their hearts aflutter~"

How could Dania not have known? Ever since Lu Guan had rescued her from the Void Matter space, he had seemed to carry a much heavier burden.

She knew it was a sign that something was weighing on his mind, yet he had no one he could confide in. Others might have thought Lu Guan was no different from before, but as the person who shared his bed, how could Dania not have noticed?

He was shouldering some responsibility he could not let others know about, so he could only do his best to appear carefree and cheerful, concealing the many worries weighing on his heart. How was Lu Guan any different now from the way she had been before?

Dania did not know how to help him. She knew Lu Guan was not the sort of person who could keep things bottled up. When he was so secretive about something, it meant the matter really had enormous implications-greater than Dania could imagine...

She had not simply spent all these days sleeping. Although she was still something of a homebody, she had improved considerably compared to before. When she occasionally ran into Changli and the others outside, she would stop and chat with them for a bit.

From the bits and pieces she had heard, she learned that although Lu Guan was highly regarded by Huanglong's upper echelons, his childhood had not been a very happy one. Others called him cheerful and optimistic, but in truth, he pretended not to care and buried all his pent-up feelings deep in his heart.

Perhaps the trash talk he occasionally spouted in battle was also a way for him to vent those feelings...

"No matter what... you rescued me from boundless darkness and emptiness... from that moment on, I was yours..."

"No matter what burden you carry... even if you become enemies with the whole world... I'll stand by your side without hesitation..."

"Until... the end of my life..."

[Beep!]

Fast asleep, Lu Guan noticed none of this. On the system interface, Dania's affection panel had quietly disappeared, as though it had never been there...

"You're here." "Sora" appeared before Lu Guan. Judging by her tone alone, she seemed to be in much better shape than before. "How did it feel to exorcise a 'Desolation' for the first time?"

"It was all right, I guess..." Lu Guan said with a wry smile. "I might have looked like I was taking it easy, but actually facing a 'Desolation' was no small mental burden..."

"I think I understand why you wouldn't let me deal with them now. A fight on that level really was too much for me..."

If he had not used the terrain to his advantage, he could never have defeated it.

If that "Desolation" had been able to fly, things would have been extremely difficult. He would either have died after exhausting his Resonance Power in an endless marathon or been torn apart by it.

As he spoke, Lu Guan took out the copy of Aesop's Fables he had obtained earlier and asked "Sora" about it.

"This is what the 'Desolation' left behind. What should I do with it?"

"This... is yours to deal with, of course, my child." "Sora" smiled faintly. "The otherworlder's influence on it has been removed. If you need it, you can treat it as a curiosity."

"If it's inconvenient to carry around," "Sora" added, "you can leave it in the system. I'll open a storage space for you, specifically for holding these otherworldly curiosities."

"That's not the point." Lu Guan shook his head and told her what had happened after he obtained Aesop's Fables. "After I got the book, a power entered my body. Do you know what that was about?"

"Hmm... that's easy enough to explain," "Sora" said. "I scanned your body when you came in and didn't find anything unusual. You could call it a gift that the otherworlder gave to one of their own kind, I suppose?"

"A gift? Would an evil dragon really be so kind?"

"The power left behind was absorbed by one of the same kind... That's something I mentioned in that story before," "Sora" reminded him. "That power was the source of all this calamity. It's a deadly poison to Solaris, but a rare tonic for you."

"...It's a good start, at least, isn't it?" "Sora" smiled faintly, then sat down beside him and reached out to gently pull Lu Guan toward her.

"My child... you did very well."

"Now, enjoy a peaceful sleep in your mother's arms..."

"Don't do that... I feel a little awkward..." Lu Guan looked at the two great mountains above his head and immediately felt uncomfortable.

What has blinded my eyes?

Oh, the agony! How did the foreshadowing from when I transmigrated come back to this?!

"Hmm~ Is something wrong...?" "Sora" tilted her head in confusion, and the two great mountains trembled slightly with her movement.

Don't you know those things move?

There was plenty wrong! Lu Guan had long since ceased to be the little virgin he once was, but when had he ever seen a scene like this?

What was more, "Sora" was a woman who could become his mother! How could he harbor strange feelings for her?

But while he had been fine not thinking about it, once he recalled all the times "Sora" had overflowed with maternal affection, Lu Guan's wicked brain involuntarily began working at full speed!

There was a peculiar fragrance about "Sora," like flowers but with an intensely sweet note that refreshed his senses.

As "Sora" continued to massage Lu Guan's head, the fragrance gradually drifted into his nose. Like a soft feather, it kept teasing his mind, leaving him unbearably restless.

He did not know what material her clothes were made of, but whenever she drew her arm back, her elbow would unwittingly rub against her chest, producing a pleasant rustling sound...

His body's reaction could not lie. With both the sense of taboo and the excitement heightening the experience, Lu Guan felt an indescribable discomfort.

"Why is your face getting redder? Is it too hot in here?" Seeing Lu Guan's flushed face, "Sora" summoned her staff and waved it, lowering the temperature of the entire space considerably.

But what she did not notice was that the gauze wrapped around her forearm also began to flutter with her movement...

The gauze brushed against Lu Guan's face, carrying a fragrant breeze. The scent sank deep into his heart, and his thoughts immediately began to wander.

"Mmm..."

The sudden drop in temperature stimulated his skin, making it even harder for him, already struggling to bear it, to control his body's reaction. Unable to help himself, he let out a moan.

"Oh!" Only then did "Sora" notice Lu Guan's unusual physical reaction. As the manifestation of Solaris's will, she naturally knew something about human physiology...

"Does it really feel that good...?"

"Hmm... is it uncomfortable...?"

"Sorry... Mommy was careless..."

A glowing green light bloomed in "Sora's" hand.

"Are you ready...? I'm going to start treating you now..."