Amira and Kemiro continue to smile at Laurin’s satisfied expression as she devours fruit after fruit. Holding Amira’s hand, Kemiro says, “Well, now that we’ve dealt with my issue, come on, drink my blood.”

Amira opens her mouth to say something but hesitates, closing it again. Smiling, she says, “This time, I won’t need to. I’d like to test the effectiveness of this key.”

Kemiro silently notices Amira’s hesitation. His gaze makes Amira feel awkward, and she tries to stand up from the bed while averting her eyes.

“La- Laurin, did you leave any fruit for Kemiro to try...”

“No!”

Kemiro holds Amira’s hand, pulling her into a hug.

“Kemiro?”

Caught off guard, Amira tries to pull away, but Kemiro holds her tightly, speaking in a calm tone, “Don’t feel awkward about not returning my feelings, Amira. Your response and drinking my blood are two entirely different things.”

“Kyaa! Ke- Kemiro, what are you doing?”

Amira squirms in Kemiro’s embrace as he shamelessly strokes her back, exclaiming, “Why are you so surprised? Do you think I’d let you deny me one of the events I count the days to? You think I’m just offering you my blood? Silly! The biggest reason I offer my blood is so I can feel your soft body! Hahaha!”

Both Amira and Laurin gasp in shock.

“Grr! Kemiro, how can you be so audacious?”

Even though she has always accepted Kemiro’s actions as a fair exchange, Amira feels embarrassed when the topic is brought up, especially with Kemiro’s hand reaching as far as her buttocks.

She tries harder to pull away, but Kemiro doesn’t allow it, holding her tightly by the waist. Kemiro moves his right hand over Amira’s nape, gently stroking it.

She freezes, her body trembling as she hears him whisper in her ear, “Since I received my payment for today, I can’t let you go without you getting your fair share. So please, take my blood, which I offer willingly.”

Amira bites her lip in frustration, knowing all too well that Kemiro will do whatever it takes to support her. She reflects, “This is so frustrating! I wish I could give myself over completely to him, but... I can’t drag him any deeper into my problems. He’s still too weak to stay by my side. I can’t let him face any danger!”

With tears welling up in her eyes, Amira hugs Kemiro, opening her mouth and aiming her long fangs at Kemiro’s neck, saying, “You’re too good for me...”

Her fangs pierce his neck.

◆◆◇◆◆

“Aaaahhh! What the hell is this?!”

Kemiro, feeling pain, snaps out of his trance to a horrifying sight.

He is being chewed on by a creature, with only his head left before being completely swallowed. The creature resembles a scorpion, covered in a shell of distorted rocks with eight round green eyes.

Realizing its prey is resisting, the creature clamps onto him with one of its thick pincers and attacks with the stinger at the end of its long tail, aiming right at Kemiro’s head.

“Damn it!”

Though the stinger looks rock-like, it’s sharp as a dagger. It strikes Kemiro, and thick venom oozes out, but the stinger fails to pierce his skin.

“Huh?”

Kemiro is confused, and so is the creature by this turn of events.

Without wasting any time, Kemiro struggles to break free. His movement causes the creature to grip his head tightly with both pincers, holding him in place as it repeatedly tries to sting him.

CRACK!

In the midst of his resistance, Kemiro hears a cracking sound.

He soon feels liquid running down his face, jolting in alarm as he thinks he’s been poisoned, but to his surprise, it’s the creature’s own pincer that has cracked.

Kemiro reflects, “Could it have cracked because of me?”

Only a single thought crosses Kemiro’s mind, and he promptly puts his theory to the test, using all his strength to twist his serpentine body.

The result is immediate.

“Kssshhhhh!”

The creature lets out a muffled growl as the connection between the pincers and its body is brutally torn away. A viscous, pale yellow liquid oozes out.

Desperately, it tries to sting him again, but its attempts only highlight Kemiro’s realization of his own body’s resilience.

“The tables have turned!”

As if understanding his words, the creature remains frozen, staring at Kemiro, who has managed to free part of his body from its grip, breaking through the set of jaws that had been chewing him moments before.

Spreading his wings, Kemiro naturally asserts himself in front of the creature.

Despite its deplorable state, the creature isn’t ready to accept its fate. It swings its tail to strike at Kemiro, but its chance has already passed.

With precision, Kemiro opens his mouth and bites down on the stinger, cracking the rocky carapace and holding it in place. Using it as leverage, Kemiro tries to pull himself free from the creature.

But unexpectedly, the creature’s back splits open as Kemiro’s body slices through it like a razor blade, cutting it from the inside out.

Dying instantly, the creature collapses, motionless.

Covered in the creature’s fluids as he drags himself away from its carcass, Kemiro once again stands tall, spreading his wings wide and letting out a victorious roar.

◆◇

“Damn it! I really died... This can't be true! I finally got a beautiful fiancée... I finally confessed my feelings to Amira! Over time, I'm sure she would have accepted becoming part of my family.”

As Kemiro rubs his body against the ground to clean off the creature's fluids, he tries to come to terms with his situation.

“I was a fool to think there would be no risk entering in reminiscence while completely exposed.”

Plim!

“What the…”

Kemiro jumps back as two holographic screens containing various information appear before him.

“What do you mean ‘minus five million’? Bloodline: Profane Symbiosis?”

With a bad feeling, Kemiro ignores the screens and, controlling his Intention, enters his Soul Hall. Inside his Vessel of Power, Kemiro observes his Soul Reflection, positioned at the center of his Hall, in astonishment.

“Damn it! My LIFE Thread Lineage is gone! Oh no! I’ve lost all the refinement of my body!”

Kemiro’s Intention, which takes the form of a black flame with lilac tones, warps intensely, causing disturbances in his Ocean of Ma’Jia.

“I need to calm down.”

Noticing that the ripples are eroding the edges of his Little World, Kemiro steadies his Intention. The calmness returns to his Ocean, moving like the waves of a beach around his Little World, nourishing it.

Choosing to ignore the changes in his Soul Reflection, Kemiro naturally summons the previous two screens.

“So, that creature’s name is Kordor, huh? So, if I kill these creatures, I earn points? Does this apply to me too? And to think reincarnation is a thing. Good thing I followed Azarthine’s advice and didn’t sacrifice the Divine Egg to revive. How did she know this would happen?”

Kemiro falls silent, his mind cleared of thoughts, only astonished by his situation. He reflects, “This is incredible and all, but the fact that I died seems unreal. I still don’t remember what led to my death, but I must be missing a few screws for having resisted sacrificing the Divine Egg.”

Kemiro lets go of that thought as he looks beside his Soul Reflection. His Intention moves through the green grass, stopping in front of an enormous crystal with a complex Rune at its center. He comments with relief, “At least my Pact with Azarthine still exists. She told me not to contact her unless it was something extreme, but dying and resurrecting is reason enough.”

Extending his Intention as if reaching out his arm, Kemiro touches the crystal, which glows with abstruse lights, proving the connection between them.

“Azarthine, can you hear me? Azarthine, I... I died. Well, apparently I resurrected, but I have no idea how. I need you! Azarthine?”

Kemiro has certain thoughts he prefers to ignore. Though he has many questions, he decides to wrap up by saying, “I know it's only been a few days since you left, but I’m eagerly awaiting your return!”

He concludes, “Looks like I’m on my own.”

Feeling the bitter taste of that realization, Kemiro decides to focus his mind on the present, analyzing the screens again.

“The fact that there’s a system capable of analyzing the Soul Reflection is terrifying. But I’d like to know how this Odyssey System works. Surely, only beings on the level of Gods with high Quality would be able to configure the Hein’Ra threads in this way. But why does this Profane Symbiosis have such a negative score?”

With his curiosity piqued, Kemiro returns to his Soul Reflection, focusing on the Runes of Profane Symbiosis. A new screen appears with various details, and as he reads them, Kemiro feels disoriented.

“No wonder! To dominate another being’s Intention? By the Hein’Ra, how can something like this exist?”

Kemiro continues reading all the information about his new Bloodline, feeling a growing sense of anticipation.

“It makes perfect sense that Hein’Ra would label this lineage as profane. It’s called ‘symbiosis,’ but honestly, I get all the benefits! How does this score connect to Feats?”

Excited, Kemiro focuses his Intention on each topic to access the information within the Odyssey System’s screens.

“Interesting. Unfortunately, this information doesn’t tell me much about the system’s true objective. However, ‘duels,’ ‘floors,’ and ‘House of Challenges’ suggest some kind of competition? Ah!”

Realizing something, Kemiro immediately leaves his Soul Hall, analyzing the environment around him, thinking, “I earned points for killing that creature... does that mean I’m inside a House of Challenges or a Divine Realm?”

The surroundings remain dark, with only the sound of flowing water filling the space around him.

“I didn’t notice it before, but I can see perfectly in the dark. Still, this grayish vision is pretty weird. I hope I can still see colors.”

Kemiro moves with an odd natural grace, slithering over the rocky ground until he reaches a crack in the cave wall.

“This isn’t good; it’s too narrow.”

Staying close to the wall, he continues to wander, searching for a suitable spot, all while scanning his surroundings for any sign of movement.

“Perfect!”

Kemiro finds a fissure in the rock that's narrow enough for him to fit through yet spacious enough inside to accommodate him. Entering the ideal little hideaway, Kemiro remarks, “Heh! Perfect for a snake to hide. Speaking of snakes…”

Feeling comfortable, Kemiro begins to examine his body.

“What kind of mess led to me reincarnating into a ‘snake’? And what’s with this flexibility? Do I not have any bones?”

He twists his body completely, even being able to rotate his head 360 degrees without discomfort.

On his back, he has four white spherical markings of varying sizes; the largest is near his wings, and the smallest toward his tail. His tail resembles that of a lion, but it has a soft, white fur tip.

“Strange, these... wings? I can move them like they’re my hands, but they’re soft, like octopus tentacles… what kind of creature have I become?”

Using his wings, Kemiro touches his head, feeling two protrusions like antennae, which he can also move freely, enhancing his hearing in the process.

“Great! I still have two eyes.”

Relieved to find something familiar, he continues rubbing his eyes, which have white markings below them, similar to a mark on his forehead shaped like a sword with two circles at the top.

“I can’t believe it. I have snout! Hahaha! Oh! That’s right, I have another Constitution.”

Focusing, Kemiro enters his Soul Hall but doesn’t immediately examine his new Constitution.

“Damn! I really lost my LIFE Thread Bloodline. How hard will it be for me to create consciousness for my artifacts now? Not that I have hands to handle tools… well, I don't have tools to begin with… hahahaaaaa!”

Trying to avoid depressing thoughts, Kemiro analyzes the details of his new Constitution.

“Weird, there’s no information on which Evolutionary Path each value leads to. Am I supposed to infer that the highest value is the best path? If that’s the case, it’s pretty easy to understand.”

“But there’s still the question: what do they mean by evolution? Am I literally going to evolve from a ‘snake’ into a ‘dragon’? If so, that would be awesome!”

Despite being thrilled by the prospect of his new Constitution, Kemiro considers the potential downsides.

“Is the metamorphosis like a butterfly’s? Am I going to have to make a cocoon, turn into ‘soup,’ and be reborn with a different body? Will I keep my personality intact? That’s worrying, but there’s only one way to find out, and that’s by testing it.”

Kemiro just shakes his head, discouraged from thinking further about testing such a possibility.

“The most important thing now is ensuring I can still use my Laws and Crystal Bloodline. Even though my Ma’Jia has dropped to one hundred thousand, I’ve always had to deal with low values, so I don’t feel too affected by it. I thank Hein’Ra that I didn’t lose any ranks of my Intention!”

With his morale boosted, Kemiro wastes no time testing his Crystal Key of the Diagonal Gate Bloodline.

Before him, a small black cube forms, with lilac rays snaking along its surface.

“Incredible! It’s even easier to mold my Al’Kan! HAHA! Since my Intention’s rank didn’t change, could it be due to my new body?”

Like a child with a new toy, Kemiro shapes the crystal into different, intricately detailed animals and insects.

He summons more of the crystal, molding it to seal the fissure he entered through, covering the entire space around him and leaving small holes for breathing. But then he realizes something, saying, “Wait a moment... Am I not breathing?”

Kemiro touches his head using his wings flexible tips, searching for any orifices, but doesn't find any.

“Do I don’t have the need to breathe?”

Kemiro tries to mimic the inhaling and exhaling motions, but the only result is his body puffing up like a balloon.

“BWAAFFUUU!! What a hell! I really don’t have any bones! HAHAHA! That was interesting.”

He amuses himself by inflating his body and bouncing from one side to the other inside his crystal barrier. His fun is heightened by the fact that he feels no discomfort or pain at all.

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