"Now, focus, Harry," Velora commands. She reaches out, her fingertips glowing with a soft amethyst light. "I am going to show you the true nature of your power. Close your eyes."

  After I closed my eyes, the world of the cavern vanished, repced by a sensory experience I couldn't have imagined as a human.

  I felt Velora's hand press firmly against my abdomen. Her skin was unnervingly cold, but against the unnatural heat of my new body, it provided a soothing sensation that allowed my muscles to finally rex.

  "Rex, Harry," her voice reached my ears, sounding as if she were speaking from inside my own skull. "Do not fight the darkness. Try to look past the physical. Try to see inside yourself."

  I focused, straining my mind to look "inward," but all I encountered was a void. It was an empty, silent expanse of nothingness that made me feel small and untethered.

  "What do you see?" she asked.

  "Nothing… I only see darkness," I replied, my voice sounding distant to my own ears.

  Suddenly, a spark ignited. I felt something alien and powerful pierce through my skin—not a physical needle, but a needle of energy.

  In the center of that internal darkness, a thin, shimmering violet thread entered my field of vision. It glowed with a rhythmic pulse, like a neon vein stretching into the abyss.

  "Now, do you see or feel something?"

  "I see it," I whispered, nodding instinctively. "A violet thread."

  "Good. Now, follow it. Do not let it out of your sight."

  The thread began to move, winding through the darkness in complex, looping patterns. It felt as though it were navigating a byrinth of my own soul.

  I tried to memorize every twist and turn, every sharp angle and graceful arc, feeling instinctively that this pattern was the map of my new existence.

  Following the thread for what felt like hours, we reached an end.

  At the terminus of the path stood a sphere. It was a globe of surging, violent violet energy, crackling like a storm trapped in gss. It pulsed with a heavy, magnetic rhythm—the very heartbeat of my power.

  "The sphere you are seeing is your core, Harry," Velora's voice said. She sounded miles away now, her presence fading as I focused on the orb.

  "My… core."

  Even without her expnation, I knew it. A deep, intimate connection tethered me to that sphere. I realized that if this light ever went out, I would cease to exist.

  It was the engine of the Incubus, the reservoir where Rose's vitality had been stored and processed.

  As I stared into the core, I felt something else—a secondary connection, thick and unbreakable, reaching out into the void. It didn't feel like the soft, earthy connection I had with Rose. This one was sharp, cold, and ancient. It led straight back to… Velora.

  "Now, that is enough for now."

  Following her command, the violet thread that had acted as my guide vanished. The darkness shattered, and I woke from the trance with a start.

  The bright sunlight of the early afternoon hit my eyes, making me wince. I was back in the cave, sitting on the cold stone.

  "What was that?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. My body felt heavy again, grounded in reality.

  "As I said, that was your core—the source of a demon's power," she replied, standing up and brushing dust from her bck metal armor.

  I tried to close my eyes again, desperate to find that sphere on my own, but I saw only the backs of my eyelids.

  I could feel its presence—a humming warmth in my gut—but I couldn't locate it in the dark. It was maddening. It was like knowing there was a light on in a house but being unable to find the door.

  "If it's my core, my source of energy, shouldn't I be able to find it myself?" I asked, frustrated.

  "Fufu, it isn't that easy, lil' bro," she ughed, her eyes crinkling with amusement. "To even feel and control your powers, you need to understand your nature. You can't drive a car if you don't know it runs on fuel."

  "I think I know myself well enough," I muttered.

  "Not your old nature as a human," she said, her tone shifting. "That boy is dead, Harry. You need to embrace your nature as an Incubus. The more you integrate your desires, your hunger, and your instincts into your identity, the more that core will reveal itself to you. Power follows purpose."

  She stepped toward the cave entrance, her expression turning suddenly serious and cold. The pyful "Big Sister" was gone, repced by the ancient Succubus Queen.

  "There are some things I have to tell you, Harry. Important things." She looked out at the forest, her gaze piercing. "The violet thread you felt was my Ojas. I used it to guide you because your own control is non-existent. But listen to me: never let anyone else do the same. If another being meddles with your core, they can unmake you from the inside out. It is the ultimate viotion."

  Realising its importance, I nodded. "Okay."

  She turned back to me, her amethyst eyes burning. "Always remember, you are a creature of emotion now. Do not let human ideology—their 'morals,' their 'shame,' their 'chains'—limit you. Never try to suppress what you feel. If you try to control your emotions with human logic, they will eventually break free and control you. You will become a sve to your own shadow."

  And then, her voice dropped to a chilling whisper. "And one more thing… Never believe what you see or hear. Even the things you think you know for certain might be lies."

  I could feel a sudden, uncontrolble fury radiating from her. It was a cold, ancient rage directed at something far beyond this forest. Was it directed at humans? Or something else?

  "I don't understand," I said, my confusion mounting. "What do you mean by not believing anything? Who am I supposed to be wary of? Your enemies?"

  "The apocalypse," she said coldly, "is not as simple as your history books or your legends make it out to be."

  "The apocalypse?" I stood up, my heart racing. "What does a millennial-old legend have to do with me? Why are you bringing this up now?"

  Velora's dark mood vanished as quickly as it had arrived. She giggled, tapping her chin with a finger. "Now, where is the fun in revealing all of life's mysteries in one go? If you really want to know… then find the truth yourself."

  I stared at her, utterly baffled. One moment, she was a harbinger of doom; the next, she was a bubbly, childlike girl.

  "Fufu, I think it's time for me to go." Velora stood in the center of the cave, and with a snap of her fingers, a swirling amethyst portal tore through the air.

  Before she could step through, I reached out and caught her hand. The coldness of her skin startled me, but I didn't let go. "Wait! When… when will we meet again?"

  "Aww! I haven't even left, and my little brother is already missing me?" She pinched my cheek hard, shaking it back and forth. "Such a cutie."

  "I'm not missing you!" I said, batting her hand away, my face flushing. "It's just… who is going to help me? Who's going to expin all this? I don't know how to be an Incubus, Velora!"

  "Ahh, about that," she said, her smile turning incredibly smug. "Don't worry. I've already prepared a surprise for you. Consider it a parting gift to keep you occupied."

  "What surprise?"

  "Fufu, you'll see the moment I leave. Take care of yourself, little brother. And try not to get killed before I get back."

  With a pyful wink, she stepped into the portal. The violet light fred once, then colpsed in on itself, leaving the cave in sudden, ringing silence.

  I sat back down beside the sleeping Rose, my mind racing. Apocalypse? Tainted Ojas? Don't believe what I knows? What was she trying to—

  My thoughts came to a crashing halt.

  [DING]

  A transparent, violet screen suddenly flickered into existence, hovering in the air directly in front of my face. It pulsed with a familiar amethyst light.

  [System synchronizing with the host...]

  [Synchronization completing in 5... 4... 3… 2… 1…]

  "Aarrgghh"

  A sudden, violent jerk rocked my entire body. It felt as if a thousand needles were stitching themselves into my nervous system, bonding with my core at a molecur level. My breath hitched as a surge of data flooded my brain.

  [Synchronization complete.]

  I stared at the screen, my mouth hanging open. This …was her surprise?

  [Welcome to the Lust Sovereign System, Harry Vedman.]

  First, I had been murdered. Then, I had been turned into a demon. Now, it appeared I had a System. Next what? I am also an -

  HiralVedman