Selene's day unfolded with a rare serenity. Like a gentle breeze in an enchanted garden, no crucial meetings disturbed the demon queen's peace. Neither the chatter of merchants, the venomous rhetoric of politicians, the haughty presence of noble family lords, nor the influence of imperial agents dared to break that almost illusory tranquility.
Days came few and far between, like mirages in a desert.
Before her, floating over a rectangular jade, an ancient grimoire slowly rotated. Its pages, yellowed with time, were laden with secrets and power. Selene didn't need to touch them; the magical aura emanating from the book guided her eyes through the knowledge contained within.
Intricate and refined prana flowed from the tip of her index finger, feeding the jade and turning the pages with melodic precision.
Unconsciously, her other hand moved to her lips. Her finger slid gently over her mouth, and in an instinctive gesture, her tongue touched it with a slow and subtle lick. The gesture was involuntary but carried an intoxicating sensuality.
Her eyes turned to her hand, the finger still moist with saliva. The atmosphere was dense, seductive enough to make mountains hurl themselves into abysses and stars lose their shine.
A soft sigh escaped her lips.
Turning her head slowly, her eyes fixed on the royal consort's tower, separated by an abyss between the castle's structures, connected by stone suspension bridges.
Her eyes glimmered with a glassy shine, piercing the veil of clouds, crossing the abyss, clearing the stones of the floors, and penetrating the thick foundational beams of the tower. Until they focused on a man sitting in a bathtub, surrounded by floating pearls that emitted electric discharges.
Then, the stones around him changed color, becoming translucent, splitting in half as if answering an invisible call.
Selene's eyebrows arched slightly, and a small, shy smile danced on her lips.
But it didn't stop there. The pearls changed again, taking on a purple hue and a malleable texture, as if they were a viscous substance. Rising above the man in the bathtub, they emitted a dense, suffocating energy.
"Gravity... What a coincidence," she murmured serenely, completely ignoring the fact that three affinities had been revealed before her eyes.
It might seem like a simple action, but ninety-nine percent of the people in this world would react with absolute shock.
But Selene just sighed.
Her vision stabilized, returning to the cozy environment. Ignoring the grimoire floating in front of her, Selene opened one of the side drawers of her desk and took out an intricate letter with a golden seal.
A subtle frown formed on her face.
She didn't need to open the letter to know its contents. But still, she slid her fingers over the seal and unrolled the parchment, forcing herself to believe that this hell would have an end.
"In blood and fire, these words are written. The throne you occupy is nothing but a gilded cage, and the crown you bear, a cleaver upon your loins.
I care not if the world sees you as queen, but all I see is the chaos that will follow._
The crown will be mine.
If it is necessary to reduce your empire to rubble to prevent it from being destroyed by your hand, I will do so without hesitation. Surrender the throne or I swear, by the flames of the Extinction Zone, that I will take it by force. And this time, there will be no room for clemency.
With fury and determination,
Kaelor Aurea Noctis."
Selene sighed deeply.
Lesley's weight increased several times, as did Glenn's, who was sitting in the bathtub. The gravity in the room increased more than tenfold in a single second, forcing both of them to release groans of resistance.
"A third affinity... HOLY SHIT!!!" Lesley completely lost her composure.
The pearls dispersed, returning to their usual state and falling back into the bathtub. Glenn remained motionless, his face displaying absolute astonishment as he looked at Lesley, who seemed even more incredulous than he was.
'What the hell was that?!'
From the beginning, he was aware of what was happening. And the best part: he could discern the level of closeness with the three affinities.
The first affinity, he felt as if it were part of his breathing. As natural as the air entering and leaving his lungs.
The second, affinity with space, brought a deep feeling, as if he were facing his own soul. That sensation of falling into an endless abyss, stared at by those two golden eyes, was almost unbearable.
If it weren't for those eyes, perhaps he would have thought that this affinity was the true reason for his transmigration.
And the third... gravity. It synchronized with the beats of his heart, as if it pulsed within him, dictating the very rhythm of his existence.
'Two feelings related to the body, and one to my very existence, my soul,' he pondered.
'Perhaps two already belonged to the old Glenn. May he rest well, wherever souls go after death.'
But space... that one seemed to be his true affinity. The one he brought with him from Earth.
The silence was broken by Lesley's voice.
"Three affinities... I've never heard of that before. DAMN IT! Who are you, you son of a bitch?" her voice trembled, her eyes wide as if she were seeing a monster.
She continued, almost as if talking to herself:
"Two innate cores... energy pathways of a Warlord... mana and prana coexisting in the same body... and now three affinities?! This sounds like a damn legend, like those stories grandmothers tell about impossible heroes!"
Glenn took a deep breath, trying to reason.
"I think it has to do with the two innate cores. Maybe the fact that both energies run through my body causes this phenomenon."
A shiver ran down his spine.
It was a simple curse, but it carried an invisible threat, like the harbinger of a storm.
"She's going to kill me..." Glenn murmured, breaking into a cold sweat.
"I'm absolutely sure that, after this, her training is going to kill me!"
Lesley turned abruptly.
She hurried to the elevator.
Glenn dressed hastily and followed her. As soon as they reached the upper level of the basement, they headed to the second training field, an area reserved for mages.
The space was completely empty. The walls were white, smooth, like a padded cell in an asylum.
Ignoring me, she activated something by the door. Golden runes shimmered in the room, and the environment transformed, like a virtual reality simulation.
The sun appeared in the sky. Clouds moved gently. The wind brushed my hair. The smell of grass filled my nostrils. The song of birds sounded in the distance.
"Everything feels so real..." Glenn whispered, astonished.
In front of me, a lake with crystal-clear waters reflected the sunlight, creating a scene worthy of an epic movie.
In the middle of the lake, there was a large stone platform, covered with golden runes similar to those in the room. Above it, ten rectangular pillars three meters high formed a circle. In the center, a smaller platform one meter high completed the scene.
Lesley leaped over the water, landing in the center of the platform.
"Come on. Your energy control training starts now."