Lucian sensed that Hysilens's always restless and uneasy heart had finally begun to calm down, and the intense pounding within his chest could no longer be restrained.
Slowly lowering his head, Lucian gently lifted Hysilens's delicate chin with his index finger, his gaze locking firmly onto her moist, red lips that were still trembling slightly with emotion.
In the next moment, he lowered his head and captured her lips without the slightest hesitation, the intimate kiss completely sealing the relationship between them.
Just like that, their lips remained tightly pressed together for several long minutes, their warm breaths intertwining as the deep kiss gradually grew more passionate and affectionate.
Only after a long while did their lips finally part, thin strands of mingling saliva stretching into a delicate bridge between them as they slowly moved away from each other.
Lucian let out a soft, amused chuckle before leaning closer once again, his lips brushing lightly against Hysilens's ear as he gently nibbled her sensitive earlobe.
"Don't worry, my little fish... I'll never reject you... Just give yourself to me..."
Hearing those words, Hysilens slowly lowered her head, her long eyelashes trembling faintly.
"Mm… all of it… all of it is yours…"
Her reply was as soft as a mosquito's hum, quiet and trembling, yet every word carried complete trust and surrender without the slightest resistance.
*Splash!*
Suddenly, the instant the water burst outward and surged violently through the surroundings, it became the signal for everything that followed.
Countless splashing sounds echoed endlessly throughout the surroundings, accompanied by soft moans and broken whimpers spilling uncontrollably from Hysilens's mouth.
At this moment, she felt as though her entire body and soul had been thrown into a boundless ocean, drifting weightlessly among the clouds one second, only to sink deep beneath the sea the next before being violently hurled upward once again by massive tides crashing against her from every direction.
Every one of those tides rose layer after layer without pause, each wave striking harder and more violently than the last, to the point that even her consciousness felt as though it were being torn apart and scattered piece by piece.
Within those endless tides, she gradually lost herself completely, feeling as though the deepest darkness had swallowed everything whole, instantly devouring all of her senses and leaving behind nothing but the violent tides endlessly surging over her.
After enduring what felt like the final and most devastating tsunami of all, her entire being was finally shattered apart completely beneath those boundless tides before melting into the raging surge itself, no longer distinguishable from it in the slightest.
Her soul seemed to be flung high into the endless sky before drifting aimlessly across the vast sea, bobbing helplessly with the tides until it eventually sank little by little into a warm and eternally silent deep ocean.
Needless to say, the title 'Ocean King' was not merely for show.
Even though it had only been a 'casual strike,' it still descended like one devastating tide after another, crashing into Hysilens relentlessly until she became utterly disoriented and unable to tell up from down anymore.
===
Early the next morning, Hysilens, who had been knocked unconscious by Lucian the night before, still had yet to regain consciousness, her entire body bare without a single piece of fabric covering it as she floated limply on the surface of the bath pool like a dead fish drifting through the water.
Lucian, on the other hand, sat leaning back against the edge of the pool in a relaxed posture, one arm resting casually at his side as he quietly gazed at the floating and completely unmoving Hysilens before him.
Just like in the game, her lower abdomen was indeed transparent, so clear that the water flowing through that part of her body could be seen without the slightest obstruction.
He had personally tested it and clearly watched how his little brother moved in and out of her, as well as how his seed spread through her belly, making it look as though he were watching an X-ray.
In the end, seeing that Hysilens still hadn't woken up even after several minutes had passed, Lucian changed the water, carefully washed her body clean, and only then carried her back to her room.
After gently placing her onto the bed and making sure she could rest properly, he finally turned around and prepared to leave.
However, just as he was about to step out of the room, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
[DING! Congratulations on completing the script!]
[In one month, the script will close, and the host will leave the current world.]
"Hm? So, there weren't many extra conditions like with Mei?"
Lucian muttered thoughtfully while silently calculating everything through in his mind.
Hysilens's regrets were probably connected to her Sea Siren Kingdom, Phagousa, Styxia, the promised feasts, her sea siren sisters, and perhaps even Cerydra herself.
In the original story, because Cerydra had sacrificed five hundred Chrysos Heirs and had ultimately even sacrificed herself in the end, Hysilens had been deeply shaken emotionally and had willingly chosen to sink into the depths alongside everything she had once cherished.
However, things were now completely different from the original trajectory.
Hysilens was currently by his side instead of standing with Cerydra, and Cerydra herself had already been defeated by him yesterday. Under those circumstances, it should already count as fulfilling the conditions necessary to complete the script.
Next, by making up for Hysilens's lingering regrets while also obtaining both her body and her heart, all of the script's completion conditions had essentially been fulfilled.
Compared to Acheron's script, which had countless hidden conditions involving obtaining the bodies and hearts of the other guardians, Hysilens's script could already be considered relatively straightforward and easier.
"One month is enough time for me to arrange some things..."
Lucian murmured softly while gently brushing his fingers against Hysilens's delicate cheek, his gaze quietly lingering on her sleeping face.
At this moment, she looked almost exactly like a sleeping beauty who had finally found peace after an unimaginably long and exhausting dream.
However, just as his low murmur faded into silence, she suddenly snapped her eyes open, quickly reached out, tightly grabbed his hand, and cried out hoarsely in panic.
"Don't go!"
Her voice carried a trace of fear and helplessness that she herself had not even noticed.
Hearing Hysilens suddenly shout with such a panicked expression, Lucian blinked slightly in surprise before a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Weren't you knocked out? You're awake already?"
Lucian teased casually, his relaxed tone instantly causing Hysilens's face to flush red.
Almost immediately, the chaotic and storm-like upheaval they had experienced earlier resurfaced in her mind, making her heartbeat uncontrollably accelerate once more. In all her life, that moment had been the very first time she had ever experienced something so overwhelming, so intoxicating, and so wonderful.
"Just now, I had a weird dream..."
Hysilens said softly with a complicated expression as she slowly sat up from the bed, then instinctively wrapped her arms around Lucian as though afraid he might suddenly disappear.
"In it, you said you were going to leave me..."
As soon as he heard those words, Lucian froze slightly.
For an instant, he even began wondering whether Hysilens possessed some kind of ability to glimpse the future, or if this was simply the so-called mutual understanding shared between lovers whose hearts were deeply connected.
In the end, after remaining silent for a few moments, he finally let out a helpless sigh before speaking with an unusually serious expression.
"In fact... I really am leaving for a while..."
When those words left his mouth, he could clearly feel Hysilens's body tremble ever so slightly in his arms, causing his heart to tighten a little.
He sighed inwardly, then silently steeled himself before continuing.
"I need to temporarily return beyond the sky... but I can't take you with me, because I need you to help me guard this world while I'm away, at least until I come back."
"If one day you wake up and still remember me, then through your heart, you can borrow 'conceptual abilities' from me."
Lucian openly admitted that he was leaving and also briefly mentioned the matter regarding his conceptual abilities.
Hysilens remained silent for a long moment, her beautiful face looking somewhat dazed and absent-minded, as though she still hadn't completely processed everything she had just heard.
Not a dream?
Was he really leaving?
As those questions continuously echoed through her mind, she lightly bit her lower lip before finally forcing herself to speak.
"Conceptual abilities...? What are they?"
"Well, things like the bandages that cured Phagousa, the ability to create gold and silver clones of you and your sisters, and..." Lucian paused briefly, seemingly trying to think of a better explanation, before eventually letting out another helpless sigh. "Well, instead of explaining it with words, let me demonstrate one of them first—Disarm."
*Rip—!*
"Kya!"
Hysilens let out a startled cry as the nightgown she was wearing suddenly tore apart without any warning, the delicate fabric scattering away into nothingness and leaving her completely exposed in an instant.
"Th-This ability of yours is way too... way too improper..."
Glaring at Lucian, she complained in embarrassment while hurriedly covering her chest with both hands, her beautiful face flushing red almost immediately.
Lucian merely chuckled calmly at her reaction.
"Well, whether something is proper or not depends entirely on how it's used. Anyway, I'm not exactly a proper person myself, so you'll just have to bear with it."
He spoke frankly with a casual shrug before continuing to demonstrate the rest of his conceptual abilities to her one after another, carefully explaining every single ability to her while making sure she remembered every single detail clearly.
Some of the abilities were bizarre, some were unreasonable, and some were outright terrifying, yet every single one of them possessed power that completely transcended common sense.
Naturally, he wasn't doing this without reason.
If there ever came a moment when she or his other women in Amphoreus truly needed them, Hysilens could tell the others the proper method of borrowing the specific conceptual ability they desired, temporarily borrowing that conceptual ability directly from him.
Of course, she couldn't do that right now.
Before the script officially came to an end, she still wasn't truly his follower yet, meaning she was unable to borrow any of his conceptual abilities for the time being.
"When the time finally comes to save this world, I'll come back to Amphoreus and save everyone, but until then, I'm gonna leave this world to you, okay?"
Lucian spoke once again with a serious expression on his face, his tone far gentler and more solemn than before.
"Okay... I will remember. I will definitely protect this world properly and wait for you to come back..."
Hysilens answered softly as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him, pressing herself firmly against him as though she wished she could completely melt into his embrace and never be separated from him again.
===
Half a month later, Cerydra, just as she had promised, indeed came to Styxia once again.
However, unlike the last time, she did not bring her army with her. Aside from a few trusted generals accompanying her, there were only several large carts filled with gifts and tribute.
"Ocean King! I, the Imperator, have come to attend your banquet!"
Cerydra, still riding atop a dromas just like before, proudly declared her arrival the moment she entered Styxia in an extremely high-profile manner. Her clear and imposing voice immediately drew the attention of countless people along the streets.
However, because she had come bearing gifts this time, the treatment she received was naturally very different from before. Under Lucian's arrangements, the Queen of Styxia personally prepared a grand banquet to formally welcome the imperious empress from afar.
Along with Cerydra's group, several little Tri also came together as well, just as Lucian had instructed Tribbie beforehand.
And just like what he had once done within Castorice's script, he directly used the Godly Bandage to wrap all the little Tri into mummy-like forms before restoring them back into Tribios.
In others' eyes, the entire process looked incredibly bizarre and miraculous.
After personally witnessing such an unbelievable scene with their own eyes, everyone present ended up trusting his words regarding the truth of Amphoreus a little bit more than before.
Inside the lively and brightly illuminated banquet hall, music and laughter continuously echoed through the air while nobles and warriors freely toasted one another.
At some point, Cerydra, holding a wine glass in one hand, walked toward the open balcony and found Lucian standing there alone, quietly gazing out at the distant sea beneath the night sky while slowly sipping his wine.
"You alone? Where's that woman of yours? It's rare not to see her by your side."
"Aglaea is making clothes for her and taking her measurements," Lucian calmly replied while pointing in a certain direction with his chin. "If you have something to say, say it all now, or you won't have the chance later."
"Tch, you think I'm afraid of her?"
Cerydra snorted while proudly lifting her chin, though she still let out a soft sigh soon afterward.
"Anyway, there's something I need to ask clearly."
"If we don't carry out Era Nova, then what about the black tide?"
"I don't think relying solely on the power of demigods is enough to resist the black tide spreading across the entire world. Besides, I'm not even the Demigod of Law yet."
As he listened to her words, Lucian had to admit that this short empress truly possessed remarkably sharp vision and exceptionally far-reaching insight.
"No worries," Lucian said with a casual shrug, his expression remaining calm and completely unconcerned. "For Tribios's sake, I will grant Okhema protection. As for you, trying to sacrifice Chrysos Heirs who are your own subordinates just to become the Demigod of Law, you truly live up to being a tyrannical empress."
In an instant, the atmosphere on the balcony subtly changed.
"How do you know that?" Cerydra asked, her sharp gaze instantly narrowing onto him. "I didn't tell anyone about it..."
After a brief pause, her tone turned colder and more dangerous.
"...Are you trying to stop me?"
"Heh, why would I stop you?" Lucian replied with a contemptuous smile, looking completely unbothered by the pressure in her voice. "On the contrary, I plan to help you."
Cerydra raised her brows in visible surprise, but shortly afterward, the corners of her lips slowly curled upward, her interest in him clearly deepening.
"Alright, let's hear it."
Looking slightly more relaxed, she spoke while lightly swirling the wine in her glass.
In response, Lucian explained his plan in the simplest and most direct way possible.
"I'll copy five hundred Chrysos Heirs and create clones of them. You can then take the clones and sacrifice them instead—the effect will remain exactly the same. Talanton will still let you pass the trial."
As soon as she heard those words, Cerydra immediately recalled that day—the day when Lucian had casually copied her entire army as though it were nothing difficult at all. Even she herself had been duplicated into gold and silver versions without the slightest resistance.
Now that she carefully thought about it, if his plan truly worked, then not only could she successfully pass the trial, but she also wouldn't need to sacrifice her own subordinates at all.
It was practically the perfect solution.
A faint yet unmistakably relieved smile finally appeared on Cerydra's beautiful face.
Sure enough, this so-called Ocean King was extremely, extremely valuable, truly worthy of being treated by her with such courtesy, patience, and respect.
"Ocean King, I'll be honest, I really am starting to want you more and more now..." Cerydra said, obvious delight filling her voice as she slowly raised her wine glass toward him. "Help me become a demigod, and naturally, I will not treat you poorly. Drink with me and make this vow."
Hearing that, Lucian merely smiled back at her, then raised his own wine glass without the slightest hesitation, lightly clinked it against hers, tilted his head back, and drained it in a single gulp.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]