The song of two lovers is simple and beautiful, but add in more singers, and the simple melody becomes more complex. The maestro weaving those singers together will either create a catastrophe or a masterpiece.

~Taliesin, God of Rhapsody

Crow bit his lip, drawing blood and some clarity to his thoughts.

“What is… happening?”

“There is something I didn’t tell you or my sister,” Song Lin said nervously, and her hands were shaking. “Did you find it strange I wouldn’t officially become your teacher? I told you if you went down this path, there was a sacrifice that had to be made. Tell me now, is this still what you want? I can disperse the chakra and free its hold on you, but time is short.”

“Explain,” Crow’s breathing had nearly turned to panting. He felt it—the fire in the chakra was like the fire in his groin, and Song Lin’s exquisite naked body pressed against his only made it worse.

“Xue’er doesn’t know this. Women open this chakra, feeling pleasure, but it’s painless. Men become burdened with overwhelming lust, pain, and a need for release. The hotter this fire burns, the greater the effect when it is over, but the only way to make the lust go away is to take the vital yin of a woman—their virginity. Brides—no! Sacrifices are arranged with little thought toward the woman. I was betrothed shortly after I was born,” Song Lin explained and sent her blizzard-like energy into Crow to hold back the fire and give him time to decide. “This lust you are experiencing is a hundred times more powerful than an aphrodisiac and will literally turn you into a sex demon until the fire is quenched. If you continue, I’m your sacrifice.”

“B-but why? Why not your sister or… or Mara?”

“This may sound barbaric, but in the past, my people used mortal women, and sometimes dozens of virgins were lined up just in case. It was a source of pride for the men, a number they measured each other against. How many sacrifices they could use up during their ceremony. These women rarely survived—true sacrifices.”

“I… can’t do that to you,” Crow was horrified at the explanation.

“The process will cause you to ravage women mindlessly. Soul burn seems to magnify this effect, just like when you opened your first chakra. That black fire is too powerful. My sister and Mara would die with you between their legs. We can’t use outsiders because knowing you are doing this will invite more trouble. Everyone talks eventually. Do you understand why it has to be me?” Her voice was low, almost a whisper.

“You are the strongest woman of the younger generation,” Crow put it together. She was the only one he knew of with a Shield and not a low tier either.

“The only one that could handle you and understands how to help you is me. There was never another option, but—” Song Lin’s body shuddered, her soft flesh burned against his flesh, trying to ignite his desire. Finally, she stopped subduing him, so Crow turned to face her. Song Lin’s Shield was bright enough that he could see her glowing eyes and the tears rolling down her cheek. Gently he wiped them away.

“This… this isn’t right,” Crow said softly.

“This is my choice. Among my people, I’ll never marry. Xu Chen essentially owns me. Maybe I’ll never love in this life, but I can choose to not let that monster take this from me. I’m the one wronging you, not the other way around. Plus, part of my goal is selfish. Your strength and growth should be higher than his, provided we can get you a Shield. I only ask that you protect me while I climb and help me get revenge. And… don’t hate me for putting you in this situation.”

She really did put him in a tough spot, with almost no time to make a decision. Already the lust was clouding his mind, but he knew Song Lin’s strength was enough to keep him subdued. As a Druid, his people didn’t have any pressure related to sex, and most kids about his age had already paired up. Crow was an exception because he was so focused on training. Based on what Song Lin said, she was destined for a miserable life.

“This is the only way?” He finally asked, feeling his Soul Burn igniting now, but the pain was phantom as it was directly pulled into the raging fire within his engorged member.

“It is—unless we start over. I can disperse your chakras and give you a weaker common method—uh, you’d still need release, but you could do it yourself.”

Crow closed his eyes. His rationality was teetering, and he was torn. Taking this sacrifice felt wrong, and the last thing he wanted to do was harm those he cared about. At the same time, he could never become a mortal and watch his friends die without the power to save them. He remembered something his father once said that he never understood until now. Love irresponsibly but take responsibility for it. It always sounded like nonsense, but holding Song Lin, he understood. Mara, Song Xue, Song Lin, Otto, and the clan, they were all people he loved without abandon, and he’d die for them because he believed they’d do the same for him. Foolish as it was, he’d already taken responsibility for them. Crow’s eyes opened and stared into Song Lin’s dark eyes, and they were filled with a type of hope.

“Don’t let me hurt you, or I won’t forgive myself,” Crow said before giving in to his desires. His lips pressed against hers, and her arms encircled his waist as she pressed her soft, full breasts against his chest. He carried her to the edge of the water, and she used her Source to push him to the ground and straddle him. An animalistic growl nearly escaped his lips when her hand slid down his stomach. Her other hand had both his arms pinned, and her hips and legs prevented him from moving too much. Awkwardly, her hand grabbed and guided his member into her as she lowered herself onto him.

A pain-filled moan escaped her lips as she sat still on top of him, but Crow’s lust was overwhelming, and he nearly lost his mind the moment he entered her. Struggling to thrust, she rebuffed him for a short period of time that seemed an eternity. Her hips started to move, and he lost himself to a mindless pleasure. He tried to dominate her, but Song Lin turned into a bit of a demon herself after her climax. Her hesitancy disappeared shortly after. A large part of the time, her Shield glowed in between her breasts as she took control and pressed him down while she rode. A few times, he took over when she was lost in her own pleasure and her mind absent. They both struggled with their own desires and wanted to take control, but he lacked the power to overwhelm her.

He could taste the sweetness of her mouth and tongue and feel her long, strong fingers digging into the flesh of his butt as she tried to push him deeper and keep him there. Every time she reached a climax, her nails dug into the flesh of his back. Every time he did, he arched his back, and she met him by pushing her lower region into his thrust.

Awkwardness left after the first two times. Song Lin realized after the fifth time that Crow was an insatiable monster, and she was crying between a mix of pain and pleasure. By the tenth time, she was in agony. Still, Song Lin was a cultivator and tried to maintain her breathing and keep her Source filled as she continued to ‘battle’ Crow and prevent him from hurting her. By the thirteenth time, she feared she really might die. It was no problem knocking Crow out, but the longer this went on, the larger his Sacral Chakra would become. She was torn because it also meant he’d have a very healthy sex drive, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep up with him alone. The only reason she kept going was that she knew Crow had impressive willpower and wasn’t like others.

Song Lin was panting, and she’d lost track of the number of times she’d peaked. Every one of them was a mind-blowing experience, but the last several were quickly brought down by the pain. Even her breasts hurt as they rocked back and forth from the constant movement of their bodies and because of Crow’s rough hands. She finally just pressed him down and sat on top but was barely able to move her hips. Crow kept thrusting up, and she let that happen. Her body was shaking, every muscle screaming at her in protest, so she barely noticed when she felt Crow finally go soft.

“Lin?” Crow called out softly, feeling her hips still rotating ever so slightly even though he was no longer in her. Her haunted eyes were filled with tears, but seeing him with his sanity back, she collapsed on top of him.

“Thank the heavens,” she sobbed. Her voice shook with weariness.

As his sanity returned, he hugged her quivering body to him and gently massaged the muscles that were the most tense. Song Lin melted against him, her body relaxing, and he could hear light snoring.

His mind replayed most of the night, and he felt the stirring of another arousal. That was stopped immediately as even he felt raw down there. Crow’s body was hurting quite badly. The heaviest bruising was where Song Lin grabbed him roughly and forced him into submission—which seemed to happen every five minutes throughout the night. At some point, they were even deeper in the water but left closer to the end so she could control him more easily.

Clear-headed, he now questioned what he had just done. Worse, he remembered the things he tried to do to Song Lin. He bit her more than a few times and tried to force her into humiliating positions and more. It wasn’t him, not really. It was the lust beast inside all people, but he felt like he wronged her. Maybe he shouldn’t have agreed to all this. He could blame hormones, the situation, or any number of things. But he was mostly in his right mind when he gave in. It was just seeing her goddess-like body he realized he didn’t want to say no.

“Never thought my words from back then would come true,” Crow muttered, remembering the day he’d claimed that he’d take both sisters as his wife.

“Me neither,” Song Lin laughed weakly.

“Lin, I-I’m sorry—”

Song Lin’s finger pressed against his lips and silenced him.

“Never say that. If you care about me even a little, please don’t say that.”

Crow continued to stroke and massage her perfectly contoured body, wondering if beauty brought calamity because it defied the heavens too. His entire body hurt, and he looked wistfully over at the hot waters. But he hesitated when he felt Song Lin’s hot tears hitting his chest. Crow slid a finger under her chin to tilt her face up toward him.

“Did… I hurt you?”

“Some, but…” she blushed a bright red. “Mostly, it was—I mean I enjoyed—umm.”

Crow chuckled, and she pinched him.

“Don’t be mean. I’m bruised all over, and I’m not sure I can walk. I just need to rest for about a week.”

Not sure what he was supposed to do in this situation, he sat up and carried her to the water.

“W-what are you doing?”

“I’m—uh—going to bathe you? I can’t take you back like this, and the water will help. Just relax and let me do this for you.” Sitting her down in the shallow part of the water, he took the washcloth she pulled from her Shield and dipped it into the water before he started to wipe dirt, sweat, and sex off her body. His touch was soft but firm, and while there was a bit of sensuality to it, he remained dedicated to the task of caring for her.

“The cold energy inside my chakra, is that… you?” Crow asked.

He could see her blushing all of a sudden.

“That is the Vital Yin, my…” she sighed and then felt silly for being awkward about it. After what they did last night, their relationship wouldn’t be the same. She was frightened by what she did and the things she pulled him into by doing so but was also excited. Her initial reservations and doubts had disappeared after the first time she reached her peak. “It’s my virginity. It’ll remain with you to temper the fire, just as you gave me some of your fire, but the difference is yours will fade and mine won’t. Although my vital yin won’t fade, it’s fixed at that much, never growing larger. Whereas the yang or fire you put inside me can keep expanding, provided we uh, do it enough.”

“Do you need that fire?”

“We can live without it, but it is necessary. Xue’er and my cultivation method have a few potentially serious drawbacks. If we don’t balance the yin in our body, then two things happen: either we die to ice poison or become something decidedly less human. Imagine your soul freezing and locking away all your empathy and emotions. Cutting off your worldy affairs and desires. We’d become monsters.”

“That… seems unfair. Can I die without this vital yin?”

“No, but you might lose your mind to lust. If the lust is unsatiated, you could go insane. Speaking of, may I inspect your chakra?”

Crow nodded, and her cool hand pressed against his abdomen, which caused his abs to shudder. Song Lin giggled at his response, and he felt himself starting to get aroused again. Cultivating and relaxing in the water had lessened the soreness in his body by quite a bit. He finally felt at peace and didn’t want this moment to end.

“Gods be merciful. How do you have that much energy in there?” Song Lin asked and then flushed, realizing the question was rather embarrassing. After all, Crow almost wore out a cultivator with a Shield, but she knew this had to do with his damned curse.

Curious, Crow started circulating his cultivation method and really did feel that it was at least four times as powerful as his Root Chakra. It still couldn’t compare to a genius with their Source, like Munro, but it could take down those weaker talents. That is to say, Crow’s fighting ability with this amount of energy was enough to do it. Other members of the younger generation probably wouldn’t have this ability.

“Once you solidify this foundation, you might have gained five or six times the energy of your previous chakra, and your previous one wasn’t small either.”

“Lin? Can you tell me why you did this, what we are, and… I don’t know, but I somehow feel guilty.”

“You know most of my story, but know that the man betrothed to me will come one day. He knows I live, and he is the kind of person that doesn’t want others to take what’s his. I’d have shared my bed with him, done my duty as the future matriarch of the Song clan. It wouldn’t have been a happy life, probably. But sometimes duty is comfort all on its own. Had it not been for Song Xue, I might even have given up that day and became his. Maddox clan taught me something these last few years…” Song Lin’s tired breath brushed against his cheek.

“Oh?”

“Happiness is something we must seize. Shadows on our souls must be brought to light. Love is something that must not be forced. Injustice must not be given a blind eye. Strong men are rare, the good ones, I mean. The kind that does not fear consequences as long as the cause is just. Lastly, I don’t have to carry this burden alone if…I have friends that will share it with me.”

“Are you talking about me?” Crow’s brow furrowed, confused about what was happening.

Song Lin turned her face toward him and pressed her lips against his. It was soft and affectionate. His emotional state was a mess.

“Yes, I’m talking about you. All the way up until today, I was tortured by this decision. Your people may not find our relationship strange, but mine would. They’d shame me for our age difference, even though I’m still part of the younger generation for another five years. They’d banish me for abandoning my future husband, even if he is a monster.”

“I’d have helped you even if this never happened. You know that, right? I’m already bound to Song Xue in ways I don’t understand. I wouldn’t let anyone harm her or you,” Crow rubbed her head, but she slapped his hand away. Druids didn’t have a complicated family system. Most households relied on the one in charge, whether it was a man or woman, so one spouse or many made no difference provided the trust was there.

“You really don’t resent me?” Song Lin felt horribly guilty about arranging all this, but she thought through her problems and the solutions before her. An unfated had the greatest potential, and if she wanted to bring the Xu clan down, he was likely her best choice. At first, it started as this calculating analysis, but Song Lin also realized how much Xue’er loved him, and Lin felt jealous. After they started down this path, she tortured herself over her decision but stuck with it until the end. The method really was the best one for him, and she didn’t lie about Mara and Song Xue being unable to handle him. She barely managed, and either one of them would die. “I—I just couldn’t let Xue’er…”

“I didn’t understand at first, but I get it now,” Crow mused. “I… you can trust me. I admit this was unexpected, but I’ll always be your shield.”

Song Lin started crying, and it felt like it’d built up for years. Carrying this burden by herself for over a decade without a confidant must’ve been her own form of hell. A trial she was forced to endure without parents or family to help unburden her. She buried her sobs into his chest, and he hugged her naked body tightly to him.

He couldn’t prevent himself from getting aroused once more.

“Uh—well, this is awkward…” Crow muttered.

Song Lin’s tears turned to laughter, and rather than being upset, she slid on top and guided him into her again. They went slow, and a long time later, they climbed out of the water.

“When we go back to Oiche, Luthais will remove my Shield. I’ll be feeble for a time, but between some pills and things we’ve prepared, he’ll be able to preserve my Source. I shouldn’t lose any of my talent or potential, but I’ll need almost two years to recover. At that time, is it okay if I meet up with you during the Shield trials in two years?”

“You know I’m leaving then?”

“I do, and I think it’s the right choice for you. I might not know everything that happened, but I can sense the anger below the surface. Being unwittingly used is never a good feeling, but at least your elders put their faith in you. They only did it out of necessity.”

Crow sighed and placed Song Lin down gently so he could help her dress.

“This has helped too,” Crow grinned as his hands roamed while helping cinch the snow-white martial robe. The thin fabric hid nothing.

“Has it, little bird?” Song Xue’s voice was colder than winter, and when they both looked up, they saw that she held the half token from the pair he’d taken from Mara and the red-robed man. Eventually, Mara swapped with him again. If something happened, she’d be able to locate him quickly.

Otto shifted around guiltily.

Song Lin lightly gasped, and her face flushed with embarrassment.

Mara’s eyes glittered, and a smile graced her face. She was trying hard not to laugh.

Song Xue’s face was emotionless, like an angelic ice carving. She turned and left. Crow wanted to chase her, but he was carrying Song Lin. Instead, he felt a bottomless chasm opening under his feet and it sucked the life out of him.