Chapter 16: Chapter 14 – The Demoness Speaks

When Jake awoke, he felt an odd feeling in his chest, a connection. It felt like the bond, but different, that lead to the demoness where he could feel her emotions-

[Good morning, Master.]

He heard a voice he had not heard before, but it was gentle and full of affection, the sound coming from inside of his mind, over their bond. Jake looked over to the demoness, and found that she had grown yet again, quite significantly. She must have grown all the way from three feet tall to four feet tall in just one night, and she was now without any shadows enshrouding her. She was sitting on the open space of his bed, facing where he now sat up.

Jake was very surprised, but he couldn’t help but feel her use of the word master was just to get a reaction out of him. He was very happy that this finally happened, and he could feel that she was happy at her own success as well. He replied “Good morning, Fhesiah. You…worked hard.”

The demoness made a sound that was most definitely not a snort, and gave Jake a wan smile.

[Thank you, Jake. We both know that you worked very hard as well, though.]

Jake nodded, he had spent nearly every waking moment training, dungeon diving, or sleeping, other than the minor amounts of leisure time to watch movies and TV shows, some of the only things he could think of to do without leaving the [Refuge], and that weren’t ruined by her ability to hear his thoughts.

[I wanted to let you know that it is possible for you to cut off your thoughts from me, but was hoping you could keep things the way that they are now, other than when the situation calls for it, as they are important to me. I love hearing your thoughts, and I promise I will not keep mine from you after this conversation. I am sorry for not trying harder to let you know sooner, but it would have been a challenge.]

Jake took a moment to look inward at the bond, and found that she was right. Cutting off his thoughts from her was easy; he couldn’t believe he didn’t think of trying to do that. 

[Yes, you were strangely okay with sharing all of your thoughts with me. I am your Familiar, after all, but there are still times where it is nice to have some privacy.]

Jake had to agree. He felt like even in the shower he did not have privacy, and not just because she burst in and offered to wash his back, teasing him. The demoness smirked at this, and responded once again:

[Yes, teasing. There’s just no way I would have taken care of you and let you enjoy it, is there, Jake?]

She wore a smile as Jake started becoming uncomfortable about this line of discussion as, especially before, she was just too small.

[I wanted to apologize for one more thing. I am sorry for not trying my hardest to restore the bond as soon as possible. When I arrived, it was like my family had just died trying to save me, and I wanted to come to terms with things on my own. Trudging through those goblin caves, if you can believe it, was like a vacation to me. Helping you train, cooking with you, spending time with you was fun, and I didn’t want that vacation to end. That’s why I didn’t ask for the mana crystal on the first day.]

Once again, Jake was completely surprised, and hoped that he would learn a lot more about the family bit. He almost guessed it previously, about the goal post being moved, but thought that she too was suffering, so why would she wait? He had ruled out that she wouldn’t want to restore the bond herself.

[Yes, I have paid a little for my foolishness already. There were in fact some set-backs that I had not planned on, like when we faced the skeletal mage. Where you, like a hero blazing with determination, threw your spear and killed the mage, even at risk to yourself. You thought that you didn’t save me and your throw was wasted, but that is not true.

Yes, it would have been best if the spear arrived just a little bit sooner, before they managed to complete their casting, but it was because the mage was dead that I was easily able to take control over the spell. That’s not even including if they had managed a non-fire spell such as lightning that would have simply been able to strike me. If the mage still stood, I might have had to pay a price where I may not have awoken for months, or even years. Taking control of that spell set me back a week, as the channels I was rebuilding were damaged for that stunt; they simply were not ready.]

Jake took that in, and he thought about it. Going by how his spell-forms worked, it made sense that it would be much easier to take control of them if the caster’s intent holding the spell was removed. He had not thought of that.

There were many times over the last few weeks that Jake was quite frustrated. He wanted to help her, and spent a lot of time thinking of ways to work around their incomplete bond, when the demoness herself knew how to resolve these issues, and sort of kept it from him.

“I…forgive you. I hope that in the future, we can work through those things together. Why is it that my thoughts are so important for you, especially now that you know me as well as you do?”

With that question, Fhesiah’s whole demeanor shifted. Instead of being the: casual, fun-loving demoness demeanor, she looked at Jake like a tigress hunting her prey, and had a flirty smile on her face. She giggled, and her voice in Jake’s mind matched.

[Why Jake, do I have to spell it out for you? I thought it was obvious.]

She began to float towards Jake’s position on the bed, and Jake had a hard time choosing whether he wanted to run away or not. He was not experienced with this type of behavior, let alone coming from her. She reached out and grasped his face with just one of her hands, her body floating parallel to the bed, and her face was only an arm’s length away, her eyes meeting his.

[When I first arrived, you had already saved me from a fate worse than death. Then, you made me feel appreciated and desired, and even bared your heart to me. Then, you saved me yet again. You’re my hero, and I love you. I’m all yours, master.]

He wanted to reply and protest at the use of the word master, and to reciprocate her statement, but he was interrupted with a searing kiss from the demoness. His mind could barely form a coherent thought, as she floated her body to sit on his lap, and wrap her legs around him. She deepened the kiss, and she wormed her tongue inside his mouth. She moaned, and Jake couldn’t help his body as his hands reached around her waist in kind, and he returned the kiss. As they came up for air, she smirked at him and before he had a chance to get any words or thoughts out-

[I know that you think you love me too, Jake, I heard your thoughts when we fought the mage, after all. However, I would like to wait for when you know you love me too. I will be here to hear those words when you are ready, we have eternity, after all; I won’t be going anywhere, I’m yours, I told you. I have been, since the day we met.]

She floated back to where she was sitting on the bed when the discussion started. Jake’s emotions were all over the place, but of course, he was happy. But also, after all that…stimulation, he had a bit of a problem-

She snorted, and once again interrupted his thoughts.

[You know, I almost thought you had some sort of problem with that, but it turns out that you are just some kind of sexual saint or something. To think that you could hold yourself back with all that teasing I did to you. You really scared me with that Centaur, though. I mean sure, that bromance was very pure and beautiful, but I really did not want to share your bed with a horse.]

Jake’s cheeks burned red in shame; he did not think of the centaur in that way. He did not think he could even think of a female centaur that way, and he was not interested in men. In regards to holding back, she was only three feet tall yesterday, the height and size, but not the shape, of a toddler. Any time his thoughts went to those curves of hers, he did what he could to change them.

[Well, that settles that about the men. There was plenty of fun stuff we could have done even with me at that size, but I know it’s a bit of a sticking point for you. But worry not: my size will not be a problem for much longer. Thanks to the bond, I am now getting energy from your core. It is not a lot, but it is perpetual.

Once your mana core is full, energy goes towards growing your core and the minute amounts of unused heavenly energy in the mana gets filtered out and sent over to me. I can also cultivate at night, but in this low-density environment of your refuge, there is very little to be absorbed; hardly worth the effort, but I will make use of it. If you can buy another heavenly energy crystal today, I can probably reach a majority of my height of six feet tomorrow, or you can wait a week. The mana crystals are full of energy that I cannot make use of and must work hard to filter out what I don’t need, for just a fraction of what is contained in that heavenly energy crystal. I wonder, which will you choose?]

Jake wondered if he could get a loan. The demoness laughed at that thought, so he moved his thoughts on about the heavenly energy in his refuge idea, as he wondered if there was something in the shop or market that could gather it, or increase its density. Also, he wondered about forming a core for Ophelia. He checked his menu; she had not yet reached level three. He felt like now would be the time to form it, if they did.

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[It may be possible, but I think it might be too much of a challenge, for her, and for you. I was mostly able to help you thanks to a few factors. Our connection allowed me to easily manipulate your mana even inside your body, but not inside where your core now resides. With the Valkyrie, I am not so sure I will be able to, or even you, the bond between a summoner and summon instead of a summoner and familiar being different. It may be up to you to do it for her. You may even be able to improve your bond with her, and that would allow better control.]

Jake thought about that, and he was filled with doubt. Jake’s mana control ability is higher than it was at that time, but he remembered when they were forming his core together. If Jake had ten mental hands, grabbing and smoothing his mana as it entered his core, the demoness had hundreds. He wasn’t sure what the demoness’ mana control would be, but it was on a completely different level from Jake, even now. She nodded at this, and smiled.

[Still, now is the time to try. We have plenty of time left in the gnoll dungeon, and it is trivial for you to complete now. I might be wrong about our ability to help her, and you wanted to learn Runic Magic from her, anyway. Also, moving mana in someone’s body is difficult but not impossible. We do not want her to level any further, until we are sure that the core is a lost cause.]

“Just how did you know how to make this mana core? It’s not the same as a cultivator’s core, is it?”

The demoness smiled a proud smile, and replied once again in his mind [That’s right, it is completely different. I went to make one of the simplest cultivator cores, only using mana instead. A vortex, or spiral is far too simple to be good for being a cultivator’s core, as heavenly energy enters through your various meridians, or channels, and is influenced as it enters the various points and nodes of your body. Often, cultivation methods and core formation involve specialized breathing, movement of energy, and more; a foolish spiral that brings all energy in from all directions equally would normally be a detriment; not so for mana.

I long since determined you were unable to cultivate thanks to the Framework, so I decided to make use of it; make lemonade out of lemons, as they say. I used the training effect provided by The Framework it had on you always progressing towards something to form the mana core, and it was successful. I have doubts that mana cores are truly unique, and it’s entirely possible that you may find that the framework would help you form one at a higher level, with its guidance. We are just experiencing the benefits earlier.] 

Jake smiled at the demoness. He was really glad to have someone to talk things out to, and that she was so competent. She had kept him company, but in many ways: he was alone with his thoughts, until now. She had provided very little input on their future actions, up to now. It felt good for him to listen, for once.

Jake realized he had a simple question that should tell him a lot. Just what was a dragon-touched demoness? There was almost no information on cultivators in the [Alliance Wiki] for him to answer this question on his own.

[That is somewhat complicated to answer. In the Demon Realm, where I was born, beasts can cultivate along with humans. Their overall path is different, but it is still similar. Once they reach the Nascent Soul realm, they can, and often do, forge a humanoid body, even if their original was that of a beast. Those humanoids, or beasts that become human-like, are called Demons. Those Demons can mate with other Demons, or humans, and either way their offspring will be called Demons or Demoness, depending on their gender.

The birthing process is not exactly like you humans, where the genetic information from the two parents is merged into a child. In a way, you could say that the two advanced cultivators “forge” their child, making their offspring together. After all, their humanoid body is a sort of avatar, rather than being their true body, in many cases. This is where being “dragon touched” comes in, a dragon, my father, helped create me, along with my mother, a demoness. He passed along some of his bloodline, and my mother some of hers. She was born a humanoid from the beginning, but her mother was a demon fox; a Kitsune.]

She returned his smile, then continued.

[So now, I will tell you: my story. I had already mentioned that you had already saved me. That is exactly so. My mother had stuffed my Nascent Soul into a relic, and then…]

Jake listened to her story, and was amazed. He had thought the relic had felt special and was different, but he had no idea that she was actually contained inside. Jake blushed a bit when he heard about the mother’s divination. So, the demoness actually had the expectation that she was looking at her future husband, the day she arrived at his refuge, and perhaps explained the ritual-like bow she was doing when she first appeared. Still, there was a detail that sounded odd to Jake.

“You said you had mothers, as in plural? Also, no other family like sisters and brothers?”

[Caught that, did you? Yes, my father had many wives, as is common in the Demon Realm, among the strong. Dragons are quite strong, and so are summoners, so I expect the same out of you. I had sisters and brothers, but none were close to me, as cultivators treat time quite differently; I never met any of them. I am only 104 years old, my brothers and sisters were born before and moved on in their lives before then. There are times we cultivators enter seclusion to absorb heavenly energy, and may not even exit seclusion for that period of time: one hundred years. They also had their own agendas, many of them already married off or left the demon realm. Some may still be alive, but they might not even know that I exist. Many also might have died when our clan was attacked.]

There was a lot to unpack there for Jake. That she was one hundred years old, that-

Once again, she interrupted his thoughts.

[Yes, that I expect you to have many wives as well. I know you were also worried about me entering a cave for a hundred years, but that will not be happening, not unless you join me. But no, you will be powerful, and do not forget that you are an orphan with no family to speak of. We must start your family, and have many children.

The valkyrie in the other room is a nice start. I was a little disappointed when my choices for sister-wives were between a dwarf and the Nordic angel, but I am now quite happy with the result. Teasing that girl is just so delicious. To think that a creature that was so strong would be so timid, oh, I just can’t wait to tease her even more.] 

Jake was not sure what to think about any of this, and his mouth was practically agape, just looking for words to reply to this. He hadn’t even had a girlfriend, and all the sudden talks were moving towards him having wives, and children, and, to be honest, Jake was more than a little worried about how this discussion was going. Even if the demoness was intent on sharing Jake, the Valkyrie likely only had one mother, after all, and he doubted that she would be so intent on the arrangement.

On top of that, Jake was a human from modern Earth: he is used to the idea that only one man and one woman would be together. More women or more men would often lead to jealousy, and he is certainly not comfortable with the idea of sharing his lovers with another man, for example-

[Of course, I understand this. You think after seeing your movies and shows I don’t understand that this is not normal for you? It seems the largest source of romantic conflict in your movies and shows is cheating or fear of it, due to miscommunication and misunderstandings.

Worry not, since you are not interested in men, I would never suggest to share your lovers with one. You will be the only man in this arrangement, and as the summoner, a powerful one at that, it is only your right. I am a demon from the demon realm, and the strong only protect the weak and raise them up for a price. My father protected and raised my mothers from mediocrity into the powerful beings they eventually became, and ultimately did the same for his many sons and daughters.

Strength makes this your right; I am your Familiar and you my master, and it is the same with the Valkyrie. Not only that, but you will be strongest with women that you can trust around you.

My mother had divined many possible futures, and she told me that the ones where you and I embrace this idea is where we end up the safest and happiest. In some futures it was only you and I, and in some I even shunned and resented you for the weakness of a level one binding me, rather than focusing on your strengths, or noticing your potential; I had even worked against you. It is the truth: if you were weak and lacking in potential, I simply would not accept this arrangement.

Let us make a deal. I know you are worried about jealousy, of hurt feelings, of not being able to make and keep us all happy. I am not saying that I think everything will be perfect, but just try. Let us try being together the three of us, and if the valkyrie isn’t interested, we can either let her stay but outside our relationship, or cut her loose for another that will. If things don’t work out with the arrangement or we all end up hurt: I will let you back out and continue to serve you just the same.]

That was a lot to unpack for Jake, having a hard time understanding how she could share him, even just with the idea that it was common from where she was from. He couldn’t help but notice she was not giving the option of backing out, until he tried it. Did he really have a choice here?

The demoness laughed, and shook her head no, her smile absolutely beaming.

[No way, not when I know that you are going to enjoy it every step of the way. Why would I let you make a choice against your best interests? No. I am not sure what it is, but something special will come from us embracing this choice. Do not worry; I will take care of everything. Just be yourself, and you and all of us will be happy, one way or another, I promise. Now, let us get moving. Our discussion has taken a while, and the angel has already begun stirring. Let us go about it.]

Jake was resigned to his fate, while he was worried that things would end up turning for the worst, he was also afraid of being alone again. But he was also a little excited, as who didn’t dream of having many beautiful women around them? Most rich and powerful men try to look for such arrangements and often get punished in the end, yet he was being encouraged to do it, instead. 

He would see how things play out with the demoness, at least for now. There was still a chance that the valkyrie wouldn’t be into the arrangement, but maybe her fate was sealed as well? Jake somehow doubted either of them could keep the demoness from getting what she wanted, even if they wanted to stop her. Just who was the master here?

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