SSS-Ranked Lust System: Taming Beauties Is My Calling

David couldn’t move.

The thing above him remained hidden behind the clouds.

He could see its outline now.

A shape too large to make sense of.

Something with shoulders.

Something with arms.

Something that had no business being that high above the city.

The red glow behind it pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

Then—

THUMP.

David’s chest answered.

His knees almost gave out.

Rliqs caught him before he hit the ground.

"Stay awake."

David forced his eyes open.

"I’m awake."

"Not for long."

"What does that mean?"

Rliqs didn’t answer.

He grabbed David’s arm and pulled him backward.

"We’re leaving."

David resisted.

"No."

Rliqs stopped.

David looked toward the sky.

"It called me its vessel."

"I heard."

"What is it?"

"I don’t know."

"You always say that."

"Because this time I mean it."

Rliqs’ grip tightened.

"We move now."

A crack split across the sky.

David looked up.

The red light expanded.

Something pushed through the clouds.

For one terrible second, he saw an eye.

Not a human eye.

It was enormous.

Black at the center.

Red around the edges.

And it was looking directly at him.

David’s breathing stopped.

The eye disappeared behind the clouds.

Then the entire sky shook.

BOOM.

Windows shattered across the street.

Broken glass rained from the remaining buildings.

Rliqs dragged David behind a collapsed wall.

The impact came a second later.

The street jumped.

Dust swallowed everything.

David covered his head.

Something heavy struck the ground nearby.

Then silence.

Not complete silence.

There was still the distant crackle of fire.

Still falling debris.

Still the sound of David’s breathing.

But the thing above them had stopped moving.

David slowly lowered his hands.

"Is it gone?"

Rliqs peered over the wall.

"No."

"Where is it?"

"Above us."

David looked up.

The clouds had stopped rotating.

They hung completely still.

The red glow remained behind them.

Waiting.

David swallowed.

"Then why isn’t it attacking?"

Rliqs looked at him.

"Because it doesn’t need to."

"What does that mean?"

Rliqs glanced toward David’s chest.

"You heard what it called you."

David’s hand went there instinctively.

"My vessel."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Rliqs’ expression hardened.

"That’s what we’re going to find out."

David stared at him.

"You said we need to leave."

"We do."

"Then where are we going?"

Rliqs stood.

"Somewhere it can’t see you."

David almost laughed.

"You’re assuming there’s somewhere like that."

Rliqs looked toward the sky.

"There’s one."

"Where?"

"Underground."

David frowned.

"Of course."

Rliqs started moving.

David followed.

They crossed the street quickly.

The city around them looked different now.

Not because anything had changed.

Because David was seeing it differently.

Every shadow seemed deeper.

Every broken window looked like an eye.

Every distant sound made him turn.

He hated it.

He hated not knowing what was happening.

Most of all, he hated the feeling in his chest.

Something was still there.

Quiet.

Waiting.

He could feel it beneath his heartbeat.

Like a second rhythm.

THUMP.

He stopped.

Rliqs turned.

"What?"

David pressed his hand against his chest.

"It’s doing it again."

"What?"

"The pulse."

Rliqs stared at him.

"How strong?"

"Not as strong."

"Good."

David looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because if it becomes stronger, it means it’s responding."

"Responding to what?"

Rliqs looked upward.

"The thing above us."

David’s stomach tightened.

"So they’re connected."

"Maybe."

"That’s not reassuring."

"It wasn’t meant to be."

They continued.

A few streets later, Rliqs stopped beside what remained of an old stone building.

There was no entrance.

Only a collapsed wall.

Rliqs pushed aside several broken stones.

Behind them was a narrow opening.

David stared.

"How many secret tunnels does this city have?"

"Enough."

Rliqs stepped inside.

David followed.

The passage immediately became darker.

He could hear water dripping somewhere ahead.

Rliqs moved without hesitation.

David noticed.

"You’ve been here before."

"Yes."

"When?"

"Years ago."

"Why?"

Rliqs didn’t answer.

David sighed.

"Of course."

They continued downward.

The passage became narrower.

David had to turn his shoulders slightly to fit between the walls.

The deeper they went, the quieter the city became.

Eventually, he couldn’t hear anything above them.

Not the wind.

Not the fires.

Not the distant destruction.

Nothing.

David stopped.

"How deep are we?"

"Deep enough."

"That’s not a measurement."

"It’s the one that matters."

David rolled his eyes.

"You really need to work on your answers."

Rliqs glanced back.

"You really need to stop asking questions while we’re being hunted."

"I’m capable of doing both."

"I’ve noticed."

They walked another minute.

Then Rliqs stopped.

A metal door stood ahead.

It was old.

Covered in rust.

Three lines crossed through a circle were engraved at its center.

David’s chest tightened.

The pulse came immediately.

THUMP.

The symbol on the door glowed faintly.

David stepped back.

Rliqs looked at him.

"Don’t touch it."

"I wasn’t going to."

The symbol pulsed again.

THUMP.

The door unlocked itself.

A heavy click echoed through the tunnel.

David stared.

"I definitely didn’t touch it."

"I know."

The door opened.

Slowly.

Cold air flowed through the gap.

Rliqs drew his weapon.

David followed suit.

They stepped inside.

The room beyond was enormous.

It looked like an underground chamber built beneath the city.

Stone pillars stretched into darkness.

Old shelves lined the walls.

Some still held books.

Others contained metal containers, broken weapons, and strange pieces of machinery.

At the center was a circular platform.

David stopped.

The same symbol covered it.

Three lines through a circle.

But this one was different.

There was something beneath the symbol.

A name.

David moved closer.

He wiped dust away.

The letters became visible.

"Orion."

Rliqs went completely still.

David looked at him.

"You know that name."

Rliqs didn’t answer.

"Rliqs."

"I know it."

"Who is Orion?"

Rliqs stared at the platform.

"The first bearer."

David frowned.

"You said that before."

"I said the first bearer."

"Of the seal?"

Rliqs nodded.

David looked down at the name.

"Then why is his name down here?"

"Because this is where they kept him."

David’s eyes narrowed.

"Kept him?"

Rliqs looked at the chamber.

"This wasn’t a shelter."

David understood.

"A prison."

"Yes."

David looked toward the walls.

"And he was the prisoner."

Rliqs didn’t answer.

David stepped onto the platform.

The moment his foot touched the symbol—

The chamber exploded with light.

Rliqs shouted.

"David!"

The world disappeared.

Again.

David stood in darkness.

But this time, he wasn’t alone.

Someone stood behind him.

David turned.

The masked man.

The same one from the earlier vision.

He looked exactly the same.

Black coat.

Silver mask.

Motionless.

David stepped backward.

"You’re not real."

The man tilted his head.

"You’ve seen me before."

David stared.

"You know who I am."

"I know what you are."

David’s jaw tightened.

"Then tell me."

The man stepped closer.

"You’ve spent your entire life asking the wrong question."

"What question?"

"Who am I?"

David frowned.

The man raised a hand.

The darkness around them changed.

Images appeared.

A city.

Eldoria.

But it wasn’t ruined.

It was alive.

People filled the streets.

Children ran between stalls.

Guards stood along the roads.

Banners hung from the buildings.

At the center of it all stood the royal palace.

The image shifted.

Inside the palace.

A throne room.

A young man stood before the king.

David recognized the face.

Orion.

He was younger than David expected.

Maybe twenty.

Maybe younger.

The king placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You will protect this kingdom."

Orion bowed.

"I will."

The image changed.

Orion stood inside a chamber.

The same underground chamber.

But it was new.

Clean.

Bright.

The circular platform beneath his feet glowed.

The king stood outside a barrier.

Several royal mages surrounded him.

Orion looked toward them.

"What is this?"

The king smiled.

"Your inheritance."

Orion frowned.

"I don’t understand."

"You will."

The barrier activated.

Blue light swallowed Orion.

He screamed.

David flinched.

"What did they do to him?"

The masked man stood beside him.

"They opened the door."

"To what?"

The image changed.

Something appeared behind Orion.

A shadow.

Massive.

Its shape was almost human.

Almost.

Orion turned.

The shadow reached toward him.

The vision fractured.

David saw the king screaming.

The mages falling.

The palace shaking.

The city burning.

Then Orion standing in the middle of the ruins.

His eyes were blue.

His body was covered in black markings.

The king approached him.

"You survived."

Orion looked at him.

"You lied."

The king stopped.

"I gave you power."

"You gave me a prison."

The king raised his hand.

Soldiers surrounded Orion.

He smiled.

"Kill him."

The soldiers attacked.

The vision shattered.

David stumbled backward.

The masked man remained beside him.

"Orion was the first."

David looked at him.

"The first vessel."

"Yes."

"Vessel for what?"

The masked man looked into the darkness.

"The thing that lives between worlds."

David’s skin prickled.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means your world is not the only one."

David stared.

"Other worlds?"

"Other places. Other realities. Other versions of existence."

The man raised his hand.

A red crack appeared in the darkness.

Something looked through it.

David stepped back.

"That thing."

"One of them."

"How many?"

"Enough."

David’s expression hardened.

"And Orion?"

"He was the first human capable of containing one."

"Containing?"

"Not controlling."

The masked man looked at him.

"Containing."

David remembered the creature.

The voice.

The pulse.

The thing inside his chest.

"So what’s inside me?"

The man smiled.

"You."

David frowned.

"What?"

"The mistake is believing there is something separate from you."

The masked man stepped closer.

"The vessel isn’t a container."

He touched David’s chest.

The silver symbol appeared.

THUMP.

David gasped.

"The vessel is the door."

The vision shattered.

David opened his eyes.

He was back in the chamber.

He fell to one knee.

Rliqs was beside him.

"David."

David breathed heavily.

"Orion."

Rliqs froze.

David looked up.

"You knew."

"I knew the name."

"You knew about the first vessel."

Rliqs’ expression hardened.

"I knew there had been one."

David stood.

"The king created him."

"Yes."

"He wasn’t chosen."

"No."

"He was used."

Rliqs didn’t answer.

David looked at the symbol beneath his feet.

"Then why am I here?"

Rliqs stared at him.

"I don’t know."

David laughed bitterly.

"You’re starting to sound like me."

Rliqs looked away.

"That isn’t a compliment."

"No."

David stepped off the platform.

"It isn’t."

A deep rumble passed through the chamber.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Rliqs looked upward.

"We need to move."

David frowned.

"Why?"

"Because the chamber has activated."

"So?"

Rliqs looked at the glowing symbols.

"This place hasn’t been active in centuries."

David’s expression changed.

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"It means someone knows we’re here."

The walls began glowing.

One symbol.

Then another.

Then dozens.

Blue light spread through the chamber.

The books on the shelves began shaking.

Metal containers opened.

Old mechanisms started turning.

Something beneath the platform unlocked.

A section of stone slid aside.

A staircase appeared.

It descended into complete darkness.

David stared.

"Where does that go?"

Rliqs’ face tightened.

"Below the prison."

David looked at him.

"I thought this was the prison."

"It is."

"Then what’s below it?"

Rliqs was silent.

David sighed.

"Let me guess."

"You don’t want to know."

"Exactly."

He started down the stairs.

Rliqs caught up.

"You shouldn’t go."

David looked at him.

"Sophia is somewhere down there."

"How do you know?"

David touched his chest.

"I can feel her."

Rliqs stopped.

"What?"

David closed his eyes.

The second heartbeat pulsed.

THUMP.

For a moment, he heard something beneath it.

A voice.

Faint.

Far away.

But unmistakable.

David opened his eyes.

"She’s alive."

Rliqs stared at him.

Then he followed.

The staircase went deeper.

Much deeper.

They passed doors.

Hundreds of them.

Each had a name engraved above it.

Some were scratched out.

Some had been sealed with chains.

Others had symbols burned into them.

David slowed when he saw one.

ORION.

The door was covered in black marks.

Rliqs stopped beside him.

"Don’t open that."

David looked at the handle.

"I wasn’t planning to."

The door moved.

Just slightly.

David and Rliqs froze.

A breath escaped through the gap.

Cold.

Wet.

Human.

Then a voice came from inside.

"David."

David’s blood ran cold.

It was Sophia.

He stepped toward the door.

Rliqs grabbed him.

"Wait."

"That’s her."

"I know."

"Then let go."

Rliqs shook his head.

"Something is wrong."

The voice came again.

"David."

This time, Sophia sounded terrified.

"Please."

David looked at Rliqs.

"I can’t leave her."

Rliqs’ grip tightened.

"Listen carefully."

David stopped.

"That’s not Sophia."

Silence.

The voice came again.

"David."

The same voice.

The same fear.

But now David noticed it.

There was no echo.

No breathing.

No movement.

It was perfectly reproduced.

Like someone had recorded her voice and played it back.

David’s expression hardened.

"You’re right."

Rliqs released him.

A smile appeared on the other side of the door.

David couldn’t see it.

But he heard it.

A low, wet sound.

Then the voice changed.

Sophia disappeared.

The old voice returned.

"Wake."

David’s chest burned.

THUMP.

The door began opening.

Rliqs stepped backward.

"David."

"I know."

The darkness behind the door shifted.

Two red eyes appeared.

Then four.

Then six.

David raised his weapon.

The creature stepped through.

It was larger than the one from the street.

Much larger.

Its body scraped against the ceiling.

Black armor covered its limbs.

Silver lines crawled beneath its skin.

And in the center of its chest—

Was the same symbol.

Three lines through a circle.

David stared.

The creature lowered its head.

It didn’t attack.

Instead, it knelt.

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