Academy Courtyard / Late Afternoon
Darcy stretches like a cat, her daggers strapped behind her back, trying too hard to look casual.
Ruby, meanwhile, sharpens her crimson-hued saber, her usual smirk tempered with anticipation.
Kain glances between them, calculating.
"Two birds, one Rift," he mutters, brushing a strand of white hair from his eyes.
Ruby, because he still remembered the flicker of disappointment in her eyes when Lyla and Beatrix showed off their SSS-Rank weapons.
She hadn't said anything, of course, Ruby never begged.
But she was the first.
The original.
The spark that lit the flame of his conquest.
She deserved to shine.
And Darcy?
Kain's eyes flick to her as she adjusts her belt.
She said she was his.
Whispered it in passion, in silence, in every little stolen glance.
But Kain wasn't a fool.
Not even desire could erase the threads of old loyalty.
Not yet.
"Zero means zero"
"Not I love you, but still flinch when Finn says my name"
As the Rift started pulsing brighter, Kain exhaled.
His voice comes out dry and amused.
"Are you both ready?"
Darcy rolls her eyes.
"Obviously. You think I got all dolled up for the ambiance?"
Ruby chuckled.
"Please. I've been ready since I didn't get an S-rank weapon. Bout time I got mine"
Kain chuckles.
"Good"
Then, a pause.
Kain lets out a sigh, a ghost of a grin twitching at his lips.
Darcy blinks.
"What?"
"Nothing," Kain murmurs.
"Just remembering that I might be here because I have standards"
Ruby snorts.
"Damn right you do"
The rift flares to life.
Kain steps forward first, coat billowing.
"Let's go find ourselves a Rift… and maybe a few more secrets"
The Hunt Begins.
BZZZ
The silence struck first.
Not the soft hush of anticipation, but an oppressive void, like sound itself had been swallowed.
The moment Kain, Ruby, and Darcy stepped through the rift, the world behind them vanished.
No portal shimmered.
No wind blew.
Just a land drowned in a deep red twilight, the sun hanging above like a dead eye.
Ash fell like snow, each flake glowing faintly before fading to black dust.
Ruby stepped forward first, the metal of her boots crunching quietly against cracked earth.
"This isn't just a Rift," she murmured, eyes scanning the jagged stone ridges and twisted trees that bled sap the color of rusted blood.
"It feels… old"
Kain didn't respond immediately.
He took it in, how even the air seemed heavier, like it whispered with each breath he took.
The system pinged softly.
[WARNING: You have entered the S-Rank Rift: The Godless Hollow]
[Enemy threat level: Unmeasured]
[Estimated completion rate: 2.7% (Alone). Party adjusted: 19.4%. Good luck, Player]
Kain smirked.
'Only nineteen percent? Guess I'll just have to cheat harder'
He turned to glance at Darcy.
Her brows were furrowed, her hand already resting on the hilt of her dagger.
She wasn't scared, but wary.
Kain noted the way she stood slightly behind Ruby, as if unsure of her footing in this team.
Perfect.
"Stick close," Kain said casually, stretching his arms behind his head.
"Wouldn't want the two of you to fall into some cursed pit and start crying my name"
Ruby scoffed, but it held no anger.
"I'd just haunt you instead"
Darcy didn't answer, though a faint flicker of something crossed her face, irritation?
Jealousy?
Or maybe she was simply watching him, waiting for the moment he'd look back at her like he had the night before.
He didn't give her that satisfaction.
Not yet.
The group moved through the scarred valley, strange shadows flickering between broken columns and shattered statues.
Grotesque shapes were carved into stone, faces twisted in agony, bodies locked in poses of desperate worship.
This place had once been a city.
Or a temple.
Or a battlefield.
Then they heard it.
A scream.
High-pitched, inhuman, and dragged like metal across bone.
Darcy flinched, but Kain just clicked his tongue.
"Looks like a welcome party here"
He turned, eyes gleaming, as three creatures lunged from the ruins.
Twisted amalgamations of limbs and mouths, stitched together by black tendrils pulsing with eerie violet light.
Kain smiled, rolling his neck.
"Alright, Ruby, try not to one-shot them all. Let Darcy show us how loyal she really is"
Ruby chuckled, her saber glowing.
Darcy shot Kain a glance.
She didn't argue, but when she drew her daggers, her hands were steady.
Kain watched her carefully, measuring not her technique, but her reaction.
Seeing the zero hesitation in her movement did make him feel a tad bad, so he moved first.
The ground cracked beneath his heel as he surged forward, vanishing in a flicker of black flame.
One of the stitched horrors let out a hiss, but too late.
Kain appeared above it, the thing didn't even have a chance to scream.
It gargled, collapsing into its own twisted limbs before the body turned to ash.
"That's one," Kain muttered, flicking the blood from his sword before turning.
"Ruby, care to keep up?"
Ruby didn't answer with words, she never needed to.
Her smile said enough.
She vaulted into the air, pirouetting mid-spin, and drove her saber down into the back of another beast.
It shrieked as her saber erupted with heat, igniting the creature's core.
She landed, body flushed from the excitement, her back arching slightly from the thrill that buzzed through her veins.
Kain appeared beside her, one hand slipping around her waist.
"Beautiful," he whispered, letting his lips brush just beneath her ear.
Ruby shivered, breath hitching.
"More later," she whispered back, biting her lip.
Kain chuckled darkly.
"You'll get your reward"
Darcy landed beside them, her daggers soaked, cheeks flushed, not from exertion, but from the sight of them.
Her kill had been clean, efficient.
But now she looked… needy.
Like she wanted to be seen.
Chosen.
Kain turned to her, the system sliding into view behind his eyes:
[Darcy's Affection: 88%]
[Loyalty: 47%]
[Lust: 62%]
Not enough.
Not yet.
Darcy stepped closer, voice soft, but trembling.
"Do I… get something too?"
Ruby didn't mind, she even smirked, knowingly.
Kain raised an eyebrow, sheathing his sword.
"You want a reward?" he said, walking toward her slowly.
"For killing one little beast?"
"I want you," she said, breath catching.
Kain stopped in front of her, eyes narrowing in that amused, dangerous way.
"Then earn it, Darcy. Prove that you're mine. Not Finn's"
He stepped in closer, thumb brushing her chin upward.
He didn't kiss her.
Not yet.
He wanted her to crack first.
Darcy trembled… then leaned in.
Her lips touched his, soft, unsure, then opened more, seeking warmth, seeking ownership.
It was brief, but it was real.
And when she pulled back, her eyes didn't drift to the memory of Finn.
They stayed on him.
Kain checked again.
[Darcy's Affection: 91%]
[Loyalty: 53%]
[Lust: 74%]
"Better," he said, running a hand through her hair before turning to the ruined path ahead.
"Come. There's more to kill, and better rewards still"
Darcy twirled her daggers.
"And later?"
Kain smirked.
"You'll all get what you deserve"
After a couple more hours of walking they found a chamber.
An obsidian cathedral, jagged and raw, breathing with a heartbeat not their own.
The air was thick with ash, the walls pulsing with veins of crimson energy.
There were no more enemies, just stillness.
Just them.
And that was all Kain needed.
He leaned against the cold altar stone, pulling Ruby into his arms.
Her legs wrapped around him without hesitation, her lips already seeking his, her voice a soft, wanting moan against his ear.
Her saber clattered to the floor, forgotten, as his hand traced down her back.
There was no shame between them.
Only heat.
Darcy stood by the edge of the chamber, pretending to check her daggers, but her hands trembled.
Her breath was uneven.
She didn't look.
She couldn't.
But she heard.
The way Ruby gasped.
The way Kain whispered to her like she was the only girl in the world.
Darcy bit her lip, gripping her dagger until her knuckles turned white.
Her body tensed with every sound, her legs pressing together against an ache she didn't want to admit.
She said she was his girl.
So why wasn't she there?
The system pulsed in Kain's vision, almost mockingly:
[Darcy's Affection: 94%]
[Loyalty: 58%]
[Lust: 85%]
[Jealousy: Critical]
And he smiled.
Ruby clung to him, breathless, hair damp against her skin.
But even as he held her, even as he gave her everything she wanted, his gaze flicked past her, to Darcy.
Darcy, flushed.
Darcy, staring now.
Biting her lower lip, eyes burning with hunger and guilt and need.
He mouthed something to her, three silent words:
'You want this?'
She didn't nod.
She didn't speak.
But the way she stepped forward…
Oh, she didn't have to say anything at all.
Her hands tremble, not from fear, but anticipation.
Her mind is still clinging to something fragile.
Finn.
His name flickers in her thoughts like a dying flame.
But Kain sees it.
And he crushes it.
He doesn't speak.
He doesn't need to.
One look, one smirk, and she knows, he's already inside her head.
He lifts Ruby off him, gently laying her down with a kiss that leaves her sighing, breathless.
And then he stands.
Every step he takes toward Darcy is slow, deliberate.
She doesn't back away.
Not even as he reaches her.
Not even as he lifts her chin with two fingers.
Not even as his eyes flash his cheeky grin.
"Why do you still think about him?"
"I don't—"
"Liar"
His lips brush her ear.
"I can see it, Darcy. The hesitation. The guilt. You say you're mine, but you still think of him"
She whimpers.
He grabs her hand and brought it to his chest.
"You don't need him. You don't even want him. You want me—this. Say it"
She shudders, lips parting—
"I want this…"
"Louder"
"I want you, Kain"
With a smirk, his hands roamed her body, stoking the flames of desire until she trembled with anticipation.
When he lifted her chin, their eyes met, her resolve crumbling.
"Looks like you need some training," his voice was low and husky.
His lips ghosted over her ear, sending shivers down her spine as he mocked her lie.
She whimpers, the sound music to his ears.
His fingers intertwined with hers, guiding her palm to press against his chest.
"Say it, Darcy," he growled, his eyes boring into hers, demanding the truth.
"Tell me you crave it"
"That you so despretly need this!"
Darcy's lungs hitched on a ragged breath as Kain's words washed over her.
She repeated.
"I want you, Kain"
A triumphant glint sparked in Kain's eyes at her submission.
His other hand slid up her arm, his touch electrifying her skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
He wrapped his fingers around her upper arm, applying gentle pressure to turn her, to present her back to him.
"Clothes off," he murmured in her ear, the warmth of his breath sending a shiver down her spine.
"I want to see all of you, Darcy"
Before she could react, his deft fingers were already at work, deftly undoing the laces of her flimsy buttons.
The fabric whispered to the floor as he pushed it off her shoulders, revealing the porcelain smoothness of her skin, the rosy peaks of her nipples, already hardening in the cool air of the room.
Kain's hands danced across her flesh, mapping every curve and contour with an intensity that made her toes curl.
His fingers traced the gentle swell of her breasts before pinching and rolling her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, sending shockwaves of pleasure straight to her core.
"Beautiful," he breathed, his face inches from hers, the warmth of his breath feathering across her skin.
"So fucking beautiful"
Darcy's eyes fluttered shut, her head tilting back in sheer abandon as she revelled in the sensation.
The gloom of the Rift seemed to recede, replaced by the kaleidoscope of colors exploding behind her closed lids, reds, oranges, purples, swirling in a dizzying dance orchestrated by Kain's skillful touch.
"Kain—" she whispered, as she arched into him, seeking more of the exquisite torture.
His chuckle was low and wicked, a promise of things to come.
"Patience, Darcy," he whispered, his hands never ceasing their exploration.
Kain's words hung in the air as he made Darcy face him.
Her eyes, hazy with desire, locked onto his pupils dilated in a desperate plea for more.
His hands, unerringly, found the waistband of her panties, the fabric barely there as he pushed them down her thighs, over her knees, until they puddled around her ankles.
His gaze trailed over her exposed flesh, drinking in the sight of her glistening arousal.
With a growl, he closed the distance between them, his lips crashing against hers in a fierce, dominating kiss.
His tongue invaded her mouth, stroking and twining with hers as he claimed every inch of her.
Darcy's hands scrabbled at his back, seeking purchase, craving more contact.
His shoulders flexed beneath her palms as he lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist.
In one swift movement, he positioned himself at her entrance, the thick head of his cock nudging against her slick heat.
With a grunt, he thrust into her, burying himself to the hilt.
Darcy's cry of pleasure was swallowed by his lips as he plundered her mouth once more, his thrusts relentless and deep.
Kain's thick shaft stretched Darcy's delicate folds to their limits, the sensation of being so thoroughly filled sending electric shocks of pleasure coursing through her veins.
Her inner walls clenched around him, milking his length as he pounded into her with a ferocity that left her gasping for air.
Their sweat-slicked skin slid against each other with every brutal thrust, the slapping of flesh against flesh echoing through Rift.
Darcy's nails dug into Kain's back, her head thrown back in abandon as he drove her higher and higher, chasing the pinnacle of ecstasy.
With a feral snarl, Kain pulled out, the sudden emptiness making Darcy whimper in protest.
Before she could utter a word, he spun her around, bent her over a fallen log, and thrust back into her with a groan of sheer bliss.
Their sweaty bodies moved in a primal rhythm, slick with desire, the air heavy with the musk of sex.
Kain's grip tightened on Darcy's hips, his fingers digging into her flesh as he slammed into her again and again.
The rough bark of the log scraped against her skin, a counterpoint to the intense pleasure coursing through her.
Her inner walls rippled and clenched around his cock, urging him deeper, never wanting to be parted from the exquisite sensation of him filling her completely.
"Harder, Kain," Darcy panted, her voice ragged with need.
"Fuck me harder!"
Kain's response was a grunt, his rhythm becoming almost brutal in its intensity.
Sweat dripped down his face, stinging Darcy's skin where their bodies met, but she reveled in the primal, untamed encounter.
With a final, punishing thrust, Kain buried himself to the hilt, his cock throbbing as he reached his climax.
His body shuddered, a guttural roar tearing from his throat as he flooded Darcy with his release, marking her in the most intimate way possible.
Darcy's cry of pleasure was muffled against the log as wave after wave of ecstasy washed over her, riding the crest of their joint orgasm.
All of this was purely to rip Finn's name from her soul.
To erase it.
Until all that's left is Kain.
Power.
Lust.
Obedience.
Not love.
Not anymore.
Only the truth she'd buried under duty and guilt.
The system pulses once more:
[Loyalty: 52% → 68%]
[Affection: 96% → 99%]
[Lust: 91% → 100%]
[Guilt: 11% → 0%]
Darcy was breaking so beautifully.
An Hour Later
The scent of scorched mana still lingered in the air as they resumed their path through the S-Rank Rift.
Darcy walked ahead, her shoulders straight, pace quick, just as Kain had ordered.
Practically skipping with satisfaction.
She was glowing, flush with both victory and the thrill of being claimed again.
Her silence was obedience, but not submission.
Not yet.
Kain walked beside Ruby, her steps light.
She leaned into him, fingers brushing against his hand before she asked, soft and curious.
"Why don't you treat Darcy like the rest of us?"
Kain chuckled, the sound low and smooth.
He leaned over and gave her a quick, affectionate kiss, just enough to make her smile deepen.
But in his mind, the answer was colder.
Because she hasn't been added to the harem list.
Not officially.
Not yet.
She had offered herself, called herself his, but Kain knew better than to trust words alone.
Her meters may have surged in Lust, even in Affection, but Loyalty was still tethered to Finn.
That was the problem.
Because if that thread remained, Darcy couldn't act without slipping up.
Her performance in front of Finn would crack eventually.
And Kain didn't tolerate weak links.
He cast a glance toward her back, noting how tense her posture remained.
'Close,' he thought, 'but not mine. Not yet'
Ruby, unaware of the darker thoughts behind his smile, squeezed his hand gently.
"She'll get there," she said softly.
Kain gave a faint nod.
The path narrowed into a corridor of broken stone and obsidian pillars, faintly glowing with crimson veins.
The Rift pulsed, alive and watching.
They had ventured far enough for the Rift to take them seriously.
That's when it appeared.
The ground cracked.
A chittering hiss echoed through the chamber, and from the shadows slithered a monstrous figure, half-human, half-scorched bone, with six jagged limbs and eyes that bled black fire.
The Rift's mid-boss.
"It's fast," Darcy muttered, eyes narrowing.
She drew her twin daggers.
"I've got the sides," Ruby grinned, already dancing into position, saber in hand.
But Kain didn't move.
Not yet.
The creature screamed, lunging toward him first, drawn by instinct, sensing something far worse than a threat.
Kain exhaled.
The air dropped several degrees.
The Rift quivered.
'Time to show off'
In one fluid motion, he raised his arms.
Darkness curled around him, swirling like ink in water.
Two glowing symbols etched themselves into the air behind him, and with a shudder of space, his true weapons appeared once more.
SSS-Rank Eclipse Gauntlets.
SSS-Rank Blood Demon Cape.
Darcy froze for a heartbeat, eyes widening, not in fear, but in that same awe she felt when she first saw him, back when she thought she could kill him.
Ruby just licked her lips.
"You've been hiding those from us"
Kain rolled his shoulders, the gauntlets cracking the air as they flexed.
"Haven't had a reason to flex"
"Until now"
The monster lunged.
Kain moved like a shadow, sudden, brutal.
One punch, and the creature lost a limb.
Darcy flanked with a flash of steel.
Ruby followed with a spinning slash that sprayed ichor across the cracked floor.
But the creature didn't fall.
Not yet.
Kain smiled.
"Then I guess it's time I give it a reason to kneel"
The mid-boss screeched in agony, rearing back, ichor dripping from the place where its limb used to be.
But Kain wasn't done.
He hadn't even started.
Darcy danced through its blind side, slicing tendons, blinding eyes.
Ruby slid low, carving through legs with her saber, agile and fluid like a fox in heat and war.
And Kain?
Kain laughed.
"Is that all, Rift? This is your champion?"
The creature lunged again, spines erupting from its back in desperation.
One grazed Kain's cheek.
That was the last mistake it would ever make.
He cracked his neck.
Then raised his fist.
The Eclipse Gauntlets hummed.
The sigils lit up like twin suns.
A pulse of raw energy surged into his arm.
"You want to see why I don't bother with most fights?"
He vanished.
A sonic boom roared through the corridor.
When he reappeared, his arm was cocked back, black mist swirling around his gauntlet like a dying god's scream.
"Fall"
The punch landed.
Not on the creature's chest.
But straight through it.
Bone, flesh, and cursed mana exploded out the back like meat through a grinder.
The monster twitched once, then collapsed in on itself.
A brutal, disgusting mess.
Dead.
Darcy exhaled, panting softly, blood spattered across her chest and neck.
Her eyes weren't on the corpse.
They were on him.
Ruby didn't say a word either, saber resting against her shoulder, gaze burning.
Kain rolled his wrist, shaking off the gore.
The cape whispered against the stone.
"Told you. Just needed a reason to stretch"
He turned to them, eyes low.
"We camp here for a bit"
"Darcy. With me"
And though Ruby pouted, she didn't complain.
Darcy obeyed without hesitation, body taut, heart racing, every nerve on fire.
She knew what was about to happen.
And she wanted it.
Every nerve in her body was alive, tingling, screaming for release.
She knew what was to come, and she craved it with a desperate intensity that bordered on madness.
Dropping to her knees without being told, she parted her lips in a silent plea, inviting Kain's cock to claim her willing mouth.
'Fuck… that's sexy as hell!'
Kain's hands descended upon Darcy's head, fingers threading into her hair as he positioned himself over her face.
"Open just a bit wider… don't want any drop being wasted"
She obeyed without thought, her lips parting wider, her tongue flapping so invitingly.
Kain's cock throbbed against her cheek, already semi-erect and leaking pre-cum in anticipation.
With a grunt, he guided himself to her mouth, the broad head nudging against her lips before pressing inside.
Darcy's tongue eagerly rose to meet him, swirling around the thick intrusion as she drew him deeper, her mouth stretching to accommodate his girth.
"Mmmhhh… ahhh"
Ruby watched with a mixture of arousal and trepidation, her nipples hardening beneath her tunic as she witnessed the dominant display of Kain's lust.
Her desires were kindled, her fingers unconsciously rubbing against the confines of her pants.
Meanwhile, Kain's hips began to move, withdrawing from Darcy's mouth only to plunge back in, setting a brutal pace that left her gasping for air between thrusts.
"Ghhhhh"
The salty tang of Kain's sweat mingled with the musky flavor of his arousal, an intoxicating combination that Darcy devoured greedily.
Her hands reached up to grasp the sturdy muscles of Kain's thighs, fingers digging in as she matched his savage rhythm.
Ruby, emboldened by the sensual display, stepped closer, her heated gaze locked onto Kain.
Without thinking, she reached out to trace a nail along the defined lines of his abs, the feeling of his hot skin beneath her touch sending a jolt of lust straight to her core.
Kain, sensing her presence, released Darcy's head and turned his gaze upon Ruby, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.
"Join us, Ruby," he chuckled.
"Show me how much you want it"
His hand left Darcy's hair to cup Ruby's chin, lifting her face to his as his thumb stroked her plump lower lip.
Ruby's breath caught, her pulse racing at the command in his eyes.
She nodded, unable to speak past the dryness in her throat.
Ruby's lips parted instinctively, her small hands moving to grasp Kain's broad shoulders as she leaned in.
Her warm breath ghosted over his straining erection, sending a shudder through him.
He smiled down at her, as he guided her head closer, the thick head of his cock nudging her parted lips.
"Mmmhhh," Ruby moaned softly as she felt the hardness touching her tongue, the salty flavor of Kain's arousal already stimulating her senses.
She began to bob her head, taking him deeper with each pass, her hands still clasped around his shoulders for balance and support.
Down below, Darcy continued to worship Kain's cock, her saliva mingling with the pre-cum as she worked the shaft with her mouth and tongue.
The sounds of wet flesh and desperate moans filled the air, an erotic symphony that heightened the tension coursing through the trio.
Kain's thrusts grew more erratic, his growls more guttural as the pleasure mounted.
"Fuck, yeah," he muttered, his fingers tangling in Ruby's hair as he pushed deeper into her willing mouth.
"Swallow it all"
Ruby moaned around his length, vibrations sending sparks straight to her clit.
She quickened her pace, her tongue swirling and undulating over the sensitive underside of Kain's cock, coaxing out even more of his potent essence.
Darcy, not to be outdone, redoubled her efforts, wrapping her lips tighter around his girth as she suctioned him into her hot, wet mouth.
Her nose pressed against the base of his throbbing member as she deepthroated him, the muscles of her throat working to expand and accept his incredible size.
With a feral roar, Kain reached his climax, his shaft pulsing as it erupted in a torrent of hot, sticky cum.
Ruby's throat opened wide, swallowing every drop as Kain's hips jerked erratically, pumping pulse after pulse of his cum directly into her waiting mouth.
Darcy, caught in the torrent of release, felt Kain's essence spreading across her tongue, the richness coating her palate and soothing the ache in her throat.
She swallowed greedily, her eyes locked on Kain's as she savored every drop.
"Master~~"
The system chimed once again.