Corrupt Creations

"That is their family ring. Did you cross paths with anyone from their family?"

"It wasn\'t one of them, but the clues I gathered were all narrowed down on Valic. It\'s just that I can\'t touch him for now."

"Valic?"

"Yes, he is probably gathering information about them or trying to stop me from getting it. Don\'t worry, I promise that I will find the Cerberus Clan and get the answers we both need, since I already know where to begin. They key factor is when to act now."

Her expression changed to one that radiated hatred, when she remembered her mother\'s death. She knew that the Cerberus Clan had something to do with it, because they weren\'t extinguished with her, like people thought.

"About the thing that I was searching for. I have obtained it." Seth took the Phoenix Feather out of his spatial ring and the room started to heat up. There was a formation covering the entire room, even the balcony wasn\'t an exception, so even if there was someone outside, he wouldn\'t be able to see it or feel anything.

Serene could feel the temperature of the room rising, but she could not feel a single bit of energy, because she was a cripple. Her energy veins were thoroughly shattered after she was born, making her live her entire life as a cripple. The only thing she could do, was to live peacefully inside her mansion or go outside to gaze at the flowers of her deceased mother\'s garden.

That was basically what she did her entire life. It only changed after Seth was brought in by the current Demon Lord, her uncle. Seth brought a bit of warmth to her lonely life. Rare, were the times that she would lightly laugh, and all of them were because of him. When he did silly things, or when he accomplished to breakthrough and so on.

"What is that?" Serene asked while looking at that beautiful feather. For some reason her heart seemed to beat faster while looking at it.

"You will discover it real soon." Seth smiled and used his Mana to guide the Phoenix Feather towards Serene.

The Phoenix Feather turned into a mild and sacred fire, entering her body, disappearing inside her veins. After some seconds, she felt a warm energy waking up inside of her.

Seth used his power to conduct the energy of the Phoenix Feather through every part of her body. The warmth of the Phoenix Fire of Rebirth, the active principle behind that priceless treasure, bathed every single cell inside her body in that warm and sacred flame.

Serene felt like she was inside a bathtub, taking the best bath of her entire life. Inside this frigid dark environment, she has never felt a cozy warmth like this before. She looked towards Seth and how concentrated he was, while guiding that energy inside her body and felt something inexplicable. A feeling so beautiful that there were no better words to describe it than love and care.

Serene started to feel other things too, a sensation she has never felt before on her entire life. She detected for the first time; what people called as Qi. A very weak filament of white energy, hovering on the air right before her, trying to connect with her Energy Veins, something she never thought she would ever be able to feel.

However, she didn\'t know how to use her Energy Veins, like a newborn that didn\'t know how to stand up and walk yet. She kept clumsily looking at that energy, trying to uncover the mysteries behind it.

Seth had already finished guiding the restorative force contained on the Phoenix Feather, through every part of her body, healing her broken Energy Veins and any other injuries she might have had. He watched her lovely expression while she was trying to feel and understand what energy was.

A tear dripped from her eyes. She could finally cultivate like any other person on this world. This was what her mother wished for, her deepest desire, to see her daughter being able to cultivate and explore the world. This was also the reason she died for, but even Serene didn\'t know about it.

Seth wiped her tears as he was also getting a bit emotional. He knew what this meant for her. All these years, she lived with the hope to have the same opportunities to cultivate as the normal people had. She was the most important princess of the entire Demon Territory, yet she has been denied to do something as natural as cultivating from the very beginning of her life.

"Thank you." Serene said from the bottom of her heart. She didn\'t know that Seth was searching for something to heal her. She had asked him to investigate some things about the Cerberus Clan, what was actually what he wanted to do as well. While doing it, he ended up following some clues that ended up bringing him all the way to the Human Territory. He was brought to a place called Blazing Phoenix Country, where he heard some mythical stories about the Phoenix, their Beast God.

Apparently, there was a place called the Fire Labyrinth, that was the origin of what was today the Blazing Phoenix Sect. Some people told the tale that a Phoenix Spirit resided within that place and it had a treasure that could heal any injuries, going as far as providing a "rebirth" to the person who used it.

That was what led him to infiltrate inside the Blazing Phoenix Sect in order to enter the Fire Labyrinth. His adventure outside the Demonic Shadow Royal Castle took almost an entire year to complete. During all this time, there wasn\'t a single day that he didn\'t think of Serene. Unknown even to him, his main objective turned from an investigation, to searching the mythical item for Serene. It was a desire from the bottom of his heart, like the desire her mother had. A desire to see her happy.

"You don\'t need to thank me." Seth started to feel a different kind of heat while looking at her.

Serene noticed that he was kind of looking at her with a different kind of fervor and she started to feel that heat as well. She knew how things would inevitably end up and she was expecting it too, but before that happened, she had something to ask Seth to do.

"Seth, I want you to do the Soul Link ritual with me."

"The Soul Link ritual?" Seth asked her a bit confused. Serene was the one who gave him the Hades Manual, so it was only natural for her to know its contents. That was the most valuable item that her mother left behind for her, something she would only show to those she completely trusted.

She didn\'t know if that manual could actually work or not, since she could not test it. She had no way of understanding it before, differently from now. However, she had decided to give it to Seth, after interacting some years with him. He turned from a younger brother figure to the person she trusted and loved the most. After some time studying it, he tested it out for her, proving that it actually worked.

She knew the techniques a person would be able to use if that person was compactible with that manual\'s inheritance. So, it was only natural that she would know about the Soul Link.

"Yes."

"Do you know..." Seth was about to warn her about some things, but she already knew them.

"Seth, I know that if I enter on a Soul Link with you, I would die if I betrayed you. But... Do you think that I would choose any other path other than death, if I were to be defiled by someone? No... Actually, I would rather suicide before that happened. So, what is the difference? There is no difference, right?"

"You... Sigh..." Seth saw how much determination she was showing him with her posture and could only sigh, while giving up the idea of convincing her otherwise.

"Serene, you\'re my queen, my world. If you desire it, then I will not hesitate on this matter. But keep something in mind, this is unnecessary, because I would never let anyone ever touch you. I will bring them hell, just for having that stupid thought about forming an alliance while using you as a product."

Serene smiled after seeing how annoyed Seth seemed to be. It just showed her how much he cared about her, making her feel special and happy.

"Alright."

Seth closed his eyes and his soul power started to circulate, involving Serene\'s body. He felt her soul and brought it towards his soul space.

Serene appeared before a beautiful blue lake. She already knew what it was from the readings. Without waiting for Seth, she entered it, bathing inside his Soul Essence.

Seth looked towards her perfect soul form and almost forgot what he had to do. Her beautiful silhouette was enough to mesmerize him to the point of stupidity.

He closed his eyes again and silently chanted the necessary rites.. Memories of their lives started to pour inside one another, turning their lives more connected, more synchronized, forging an inseparable link.