A visit to the baths

Seth’s words resounded in Hollie’s ears, her knees finally giving way, and she was about to fall from her feet when a pair of warm hands caught her.

When she looked up, she saw Seth had arrived in front of her, his eyes looking lovingly into hers. All of the pressure she felt earlier was also completely gone.

“And I want you to be there with me, Hollie. I don’t want to lose you as I lost myself. Don’t make the same mistakes that I did. Don’t allow yourself to hurt everyone around you as I did.”

Moving the hair from her face, Seth bent forward and placed his forehead against hers.

“I won’t ask you to give up on your ambition since that is also a part of you, but I want you to stop for a moment and look around yourself.”

“Take a step back and walk next to me. I promise not to move a step forward and leave you behind. I’ll hold your hand and walk along with you forward. We’ll reach that wall together, climb it together and see the great beyond together.”

Hollie’s eyes turned red, and tears started flowing down her cheeks as her trembling hands moved to grab tightly onto Seth’s shirt. Bitting on her lip, she nodded and said: “Let’s see the great beyond together. I don’t want to become the you I’ve seen in those memories.”

Seth nodded and pulled her into his chest, rubbing her back over her soft hair as he said: “I won’t allow you, Hollie. I won’t allow any of you to walk that path.”

Hollie sniffed once in his arms before moving back and saying: “I need to rest now, Seth. I’ll come to see you once I have cleared my mind.”

Seth nodded and watched as Hollie started flying towards the window. As she was about to fly out, Seth smiled and said: “I love you, Hollie.”

Hollie stopped, turning around with a broad smile and tear-stained face. “I do, too.”. She then turned around and flew out of the room.

Seth chuckled and went to sit down next to the sleeping Katy.

<Does host think it’s wise? The flames of ambition are not doused with mere words.>

‘You mean me allowing her to see what the end of the path looks like? It is fine. I trust both her wits and her words. When the time comes, she’ll have us to rely on. She’ll make the right choice.’

The system remained silent, and Seth continued watching over Katy.

It took half a day for Katy to finally wake up. Grabbing her chest, she looked up at Seth and asked: “What happened? It hurt so bad.”

“It was my bad. I’m sorry.” Said Seth with a smile, ruffling her hair before asking: “Are you feeling better now?”

Katy nodded obediently and blushed as she said: “I feel… full.”

Seth smiled wryly and said: “I sort of had to. Hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t. I’m happy you came to see me.” Said Katy before suddenly realizing something and quickly lifting her head from Seth’s lap: “Where are we?”

“One of my students’ rooms. Come, I’ll take you to yours.” Said Seth, extending a hand toward her.

Katy took his hand, and they both teleported out of Caitlin’s room, arriving back inside Katy’s.

Katy blushed once she was back inside her room and lowered her head as she asked: “A-are you busy?”

“Not right now, no. Why?” replied Seth.

“I want to tell you something.” Said Katy, moving to sit down on the bed.

Noticing her face was getting redder by the second, Seth walked in front of her and tried to kiss her, but Katy moved her hand to stop him and said shyly: “Not that….”

Seeing the confusion on Seth’s face, she lowered her head and said: “I didn’t bleed this month.”

Seth looked even more confused at first before his eyes widened, and he asked: “You mean… that’s not possible.”

‘System?’

<Negative. There is no sign of any fertilized eggs in Katy’s uterus.>

Seth sighed and knelt in front of Katy before saying: “You are not pregnant. I just checked. It might be related to the changes that happened to your body.”

Katy nodded, looking a little saddened as she said: “I understand.”

Seth smiled and asked: “Why are you sad? Do you want a child?”

Katy nodded and said: “The other sisters are all strong, beautiful, and powerful, but I’m just an ordinary girl.” Her face turned red again as she said: “If I had your child...”

Seth pulled her nose and said with a chuckle: “Are you still worried I’ll leave you behind?” after Katy lowered her head, Seth smiled and said: “I already promised you I won’t.”

“I know you can’t be pregnant because I actively stop myself from leaving women pregnant. I don’t mind having a child, but we still don’t know what’s happening with your body, and I don’t want anything unfortunate to happen. After we learn more about your body and things settle in the kingdom, we’ll have one. How about it?”

“Promise?” asked Katy in excitement.

“If it’s safe, yes, but we must ensure nothing goes wrong. My mom has been bickering me for a grandchild for a long time, so I don’t mind it.”

Katy nodded again and asked, “Why didn’t you make one with the older sisters?”

“Because ascended children have a high chance of dying in their mothers’ wombs.” Said Seth with a sigh.

Katy’s smile faded, and she lowered her head, nodding silently.

Seth chuckled and stood up, ruffling her pink hair, and said: “This conversation turned sad all of a sudden. Come, let us take a bath to relax. Have you seen the baths here?”

“Sister Hollie took me there before.” Replied Katy while standing up as well.

The two started making their way toward the large bath in the royal chambers. On the way, Seth kept speaking with the system.

‘Do you know what happened? It’s still strange because her body is supposed to be a perfect replica of the human body.’

An image appeared in Seth’s vision, and he could see the insides of Katy’s womb. Alongside it, a picture of her womb before the transformation also appeared.

<There appears to be no difference to her body structure, but since her stomach no longer works in processing food as energy to sustain vital functions, this role being taken by her womb, we can’t know how else it might have changed.>

Seth frowned and said: ‘Can she still bear children then?’

< Can’t draw accurate results, but the most likely conclusion is no. At least not the usual way. Her womb absorbs all lust energy inside, while her body rejects life energy completely.>

Seth gave Katy an apologetic look but didn’t say anything. He wanted to keep her hopes and was also unsure if the system’s conclusion was correct.

Ending his conversation with the system there, he spent the rest of the day relaxing in the bath with Katy. He didn’t feel like cultivating with all that had happened lately, so the two played in the tub.

Katy eventually started to get drowsy from the warm water and left after cuddling a bit more with Seth, leaving him alone inside the bath.

‘Show me Pearl.’, said Seth.

His vision changed, and he could see Pearl sitting on the bed, playing around with an orb of creation energy. Her eyes looked kind of lost, and she kept sighing.

Noticing the dried tears on her face, Seth sighed and had the system close the image. He knew he might have been too harsh on her, but at the same time, he was convinced that was the best choice.

Putting the matter with Pearl in the back of his mind, he said: ‘So we found out how to trigger the lust source’s fourth ability. Save the theory of the ability under ‘soul-link’ in the system. Any hypothesis on why Rebecca was not marked?’

<Most possible explanation is host’s train of thought while having intercourse with Rebecca.>

‘What do you mean by that?’ asked Seth.

<Host already has deep feelings for all the other marked women, and the mark serves as a key to allow for a soul link. In Rebecca’s case, host has gone there to complete a task, so the lust source must not perceive her as a confidant.>

<There’s also the fact that the marking process had proven painful, which would have gone against both your wishes for a tame sexual experience>

‘What about Leora then? How did I link with her, and she’s not marked?’

<Since host’s memories of the soul link are damaged, establishing a proper conclusion is quite difficult.>

‘The mark might not be necessary but more like a safety measure. My link with Leora was rougher, and I’m sure that even my divinity intervened.’

“The mark might not create the link, but instead assure that the connection can’t be accessed or influenced by other factors.’

<There is a high chance host’s conclusions are correct.>

‘So, besides Katy’s case, which I don’t even know where to start with, that pretty much should be everything about the fourth shell of the lust source….’

Seth created a small orb of perception energy in front of his eyes and muttered: “If the lust source showed so much change in the middle shells, why are you so far behind?….”

“Perception read, perception influence, mind break, mind control, brainwash….”

‘You were both at the same rank when I picked you. Until the fourth shell, I figured the lust source was the one underwhelming, but now… there was not much change once you broke into the fourth shell… what are you not telling me, little one?’

The black and gold colors of the orb of energy brightened briefly before calming down again as it responded to Seth’s words.

Seth smiled and made it disappear.

‘Don’t worry. You’ll have time to show your worth once we start dealing with the other kingdoms.’

As Seth was relaxing in the bath, thinking about his sources, everything that had happened lately, and what to do in the future, the door to the bath opened.

Hearing the noise, Seth turned around and locked eyes with a woman he had not met before now. The woman was startled to see Seth there and fell to her knees, her forehead touching the floor beneath.

“I apologize for intruding on Your Majesty’s bath.”

Seth nodded and turned around as he asked: “What are you doing here?”

“Responding to Your Majesty. I’ve been hired by Queen Maya to clean the bath.” Responded the woman in a shaky voice, not daring to lift her head from the floor.

“Don’t mind me then. Thank you for your hard work.” Said Seth.

The woman couldn’t believe what her ears were hearing.

‘What does that mean? Am I supposed to leave? Clean? With His Majesty here? What would Queen Maya say if she came here?’

She remained stunned in place, not knowing what she should do. If she ran, she feared the king might think she was slacking in her work, but if she were to stay, she also found it not an option. The king of the entire kingdom was there naked, so how could she dare to walk around the bath.

Seth had no idea that he had just stun-locked the poor palace maid, his mind drifting back to his own problems. After 30 minutes, he frowned and turned around, only to see the maid in the same position.

“What are you doing?” he asked, confused.