Calm Wanderer
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(AKJ) Chapter 26 - His first Soul Bond Partner
🕑 Added 2023-12-09 16:30:50 +0000 UTCDamovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
While the young man was enjoying the smooth feeling of her skin, he started talking, while Seraphine kept silent. “I've... Okay, I feel a bit nervous now.” Taking a deep breath, he resumed. “A month ago, after being knocked out, I got back my... My previous life's memories.” He then paused for a second, waiting for her reaction and expecting the worst.
Instead, he noticed her confusion. “I don't understand the link between that and the fact that we get together or not. Don't get me wrong! I'm really curious and I've got many questions, but...” At her words, the young man felt the tension in his body strangely alleviate, although not to the point that it disappeared.
“The link is that I've got memories of another 30 year-old-guy inside my head. Granted it was technically me, but still.” “Wait! You said 30 years old?! How...” Feeling like the conversation was derailing, he cut her off by saying. “Sera! That's not the point! I'm not the Demian you've known for years for God's sake!”
Those last few words were spoken forcefully, his tone betraying his inner struggle and chaotic emotions. However, he knew that lashing at the woman beside him would not help remove his fears; thus, he fell silent while trying to calm himself down.
In his confused state, he suddenly felt the touch of the lovely woman's hand on his shoulder, then his neck, and finally his cheek. As soon as she reached her target, she started stroking it, clearly trying her best to transmit the love and care she felt for him through her touch.
After a few moments, Demian felt his mind relax while he was enjoying her caress. His cousin probably felt the change as she declared. “You said I'm silly, but you're really the silliest.” Feeling confused, he asked. “What do you mean?” Shaking her head, she giggled briefly and explained herself. “You said you got back your memories, correct?” “Correct.” “So, if those memories are yours, that means it was you in your previous life and not someone taking over your body like in those transmigration novels, right?” “Yes.”
After the two questions, he could more or less guess what she meant. However, he chose to keep silent and let her finish. “So, that just means you're you. Just with a few more memories. And to me, that doesn't really matter.” His body now completely loosened up, but he still chose to question.
“You really don't think it's weird?” Chuckling, she replied. “Of course, it's weird! But in a good way. After all, I'm pretty sure we've all got those memories somewhere inside us. It's just that you're one of the few who got access to it.” Her words helped him see the situation from another angle, making him feel much better.
“That's surprisingly mature of you.” His teasing words did not really match the thankful tone he used, which did not escape the woman's attention. Snorting softly, she retorted playfully. “You're the only one thinking I'm not a beautiful mature lady, you know?” Squeezing her hand gently, he began using flirty words.
“You're wrong about that. I'm plenty aware of the fact that you're beautiful and mature. Especially where it counts.” Blushing bright red at his words, she softly hit his right shoulder again and reproached him. “Stop it with the teasing! Let's go back to the previous conversation.”
Her voice said no, but the happy smile on her face told everything Demian needed to know about her opinion of his compliments. However, he decided to preserve her dignity and follow her demands. “Sure. So, what do you want to know?” He asked since he did not want to bore her with too many details.
To his surprise, she was extremely curious about pretty much everything like his name, his family, hobbies, etc. Once they went through most of his life, Demian started to explain about his meeting with that unknown entity. “He, or she, I don't really know. He asked me to choose three Perks I would get in my next life.”
“So this one, then?” “Exactly.” Looking excited, she exclaimed. “So that means you've got three powers?!” He began to nod his head before remembering the fact that she could not see his gesture. He thus answered out loud. “Yes.” “What are they?” Her enthusiasm drew a smile on his face, as he started to explain his three perks.
“Keep in mind that the Perks I asked for were pretty general, and the Entity told me that there will be nuances and evolutions.” She nodded her head but kept silent. “I called the first Perk 'Ultimate and Equalized Physiology Perk'.” “That sounds like a mouthful.” “I'm aware. That's why I shortened it to Physiology Perk. Much easier.”
“Makes sense. And what does it do?” “It gives me the power to grow in strength endlessly and in a balanced manner. It works by stimulating any attribute of mine like stamina, strength, etc. and while I grow in that area, I'll grow in every other area at the same time.” “That sounds OP.” “Yes and no. Yes because I only have to work on one attribute to grow all of them. But no since it takes time to increase my 'strength growth affinity'.”
“What do you mean?” She asked confused. “I made up that word since I'm not really sure how to call it. You can think about it like the spiritual roots in those cultivation novels, but with physical strength. A month ago, my 'spiritual root' was terrible and I could barely grow a little. But after stimulating my body every day for a month, not only did I become stronger but I also feel that my growth rate is increasing.”
Giggling at his words, she replied. “That sounds like a non-problem to me. You sound like a rich kid who's complaining about having a slightly less enormous amount of money than they wanted.” Chuckling at her description, Demian nodded. “That feels like a surprisingly accurate description to me. I'm being an ungrateful prick, ain't I?”
Patting his shoulder, she replied in a fake comforting tone. “Yes, you are. But don't worry, I still love you anyway.” Shaking his head slightly, he pinched her nose softly and said in a joking tone. “You're really looking for a fight, my lovely Sis.” Pushing his fingers from her nose, she replied.
“Only because I know you can't fight back!” That made the two chuckle for a while before Demian continued his explanation. “That's my understanding of my first Perk so far. The second Perk is called 'Ultimate Soul and Mind Shield'. Everything is in the name as far as I know.” Looking pensive, she said.
“So no mental manipulation?” “Right. And no selling my soul to the devil for power either.” Tilting her head slightly in an adorable manner, she asked. ”Are you saying devils and demons exist?” Shrugging, the young man replied. “No clue. But the fact that I got reincarnated by an entity powerful enough to freely gift me those three powers means that anything's possible. In any case, we'll find out in the future as we grow in power.”
Lowering her head slightly at his words, she said in a dim voice. “But I don't have any power... What about your lifespan? Will you become immortal like in those novels? Does that mean I'll grow old and die while you'll stay young forever?” The last few questions were asked in a panicked voice, prompting the young man to kiss the flustered woman on her cheek to distract her from her worries.
And that worked as the charming girl froze instantly, while her cheeks were burning red. 'I think I'm gonna get addicted to making her blush. She looks so adorable like that...' Despite the strong temptation, he refrained from teasing her again and instead started explaining.
“You asked too many questions and didn't even let me finish. Now, to answer your question about lifespan: I don't know. The Entity didn't tell me anything so we'll find out as we go. Although I've got a strong hunch that as our power grows, so too does our lifespan.”
Pausing for a second, he took a deep breath as he felt that the next part of his explanation would have a great impact on his relationship with Sera, but also with Bryn and Adeliya. “The third Perk would resolve your concern about not being powerful or having any power.”
Her overwhelming interest was apparent on her face, as she asked. “Does that mean you can grant powers to others? Can you do that to Big Sis and Mom too?” That made him feel awkward since he knew the mechanism of his last Perk. “I... I can but...” She clearly felt his hesitation, as she questioned. “Does it have a great price?”
With some reluctance, he responded. “Not exactly. But kinda...” Shaking her head, she exclaimed. “That's not an answer.” Sighing in defeat, he explained while feeling a bit embarrassed. “The third Perk is called Love Bond and it consists in bonding my Soul to someone I love and trust deeply and who shares the feeling.”
With a confused look, the young woman responded. “Bonding your soul? From the way you say it, I'm guessing there are pros and cons?” “Yes. Again, it's only the superficial knowledge I've got about the Perk.” “I know. Keep explaining.” “The pros are that any person bonded to me will have access to both of my other Perks.”
“That sounds great! That means Mom, Big Sis and I could become very strong too!” Nodding his head, he however kept silent. When she noticed it, Sera guessed. “There are some strong cons, right?” “Well, it depends how you view it. It's just that the Perk works in a way, that the closer the interaction, the better it works. And if the interactions are not close enough then the Perk's effectiveness would be so low that it'd be almost impossible to see the difference with not having it.”
Once he finished his explanation, he noted the slow look of realization on her face, proven by the deliberate way in which she phrased her question. “How close are we talking about?” “Well... As in sexual close. It WOULD work with a simple kiss. But it would be the bare minimum.” Looking speechless, the young woman with red cheeks commented.
“Why did you ask for something so specific to that Entity?” “I didn't. I asked for a way to help my loved ones keep up with me as I grow stronger. And he told me that it would be the best way, so I just listened.” Shaking her head, she claimed in a speechless tone. “That Entity is a pervert!”
Chuckling at her words, he replied. “Maybe he is. But we can't complain since I got three powers for free. And if used well, they can make me, us, very powerful.” With a pensive look on her face, she retorted. “I guess you're right... So... Are you... I mean we...” The charming young woman seemed a bit flustered and seemingly incapable of finding her words.
Gazing at her adorable reactions, he however could not help himself from being a bit embarrassed since he understood what she meant. He had a brief thought. 'As a man I need to take the initiative!' Before he took a deep breath to gather his courage and stated. “You mean about the Soul Bond between us, right?”
Nodding her head with an awkward look on her face, she however kept silent, which prompted him to continue. “Do you want to?” Nodding her head even harder, this time she exclaimed. “Yes!” “Wait! You need to understand that it's final. There's no turning back and if we get to become immortal like you said, we'll be stuck together forever. Don't misunderstand though, I'd love it, but I'm worried that you'd come to regret it after a while.”
He said the last sentence quickly as soon as he noticed the gloomy expression that started to appear on her face. Fortunately, he was swift, and the depressed look turned to happiness instantly. After that, she said. “It depends. Do you promise to cherish me forever?” The nod of his head mirrored the firm tone of his answer.
“I promise. For as long as I, Demian Mikhailov live and beyond, I shall love and cherish you, Seraphine Mikhailov, through our Eternal Soul Bond. Will you also do the same?” The solemness of his vow visibly took her by surprise as a few tears of happiness ran down her cheeks while a smile adorned her beautiful face.
The silence lasted a few seconds which seemed like hours to Demian. It fortunately ended as her words resounded in his ears. “I, Seraphine Mikhailov, swear to love and cherish you, Demian Mikhailov, for as long as I live and beyond, through our Eternal Soul Bond.” As soon as she finished her own vow, she added.
“That was a bit embarra...” Her voice was suddenly cut off as Demian's lips touched hers. The two then froze in place as they could feel the transformation that was currently happening to their respective souls.
