Chapter 1: The Crimson Lotus
Soft fabric.
That was the first thing Lyra noticed.
Not cold stone. Not dirt. Not the suffocating pressure of Velkaris.
A bed.
Her eyes snapped open instantly.
Lyra lurched upright, breathing hard as panic surged through her body. Her gaze darted across the unfamiliar room.
Dark polished wood. Velvet curtains swaying beside an open window. Crimson lanternlight bathing the walls in warm red hues. The faint scent of wine, incense, and perfume lingering in the air.
Too comfortable.
For one horrible second, she thought she had been captured again.
Then a calm woman’s voice drifted through the room.
“It’s alright,” the voice said smoothly. “You’re safe here.”
A woman stepped into view.
Long violet hair spilled over elegant dark clothing trimmed in crimson. She moved with effortless composure, radiating the kind of confidence that came from overwhelming power held carefully under control.
Not like Marshall.
Marshall’s presence crushed people.
This woman didn’t need to.
“You collapsed outside my establishment,” she said calmly. “I brought you inside personally.”
Lyra blinked several times.
“…Your establishment?”
The woman inclined her head slightly.
“Morgana,” she said. “Owner of the Crimson Lotus.”
Lyra froze.
The Crimson Lotus was infamous throughout Valedryn. A luxurious brothel built beside the deadliest forest in the kingdom, frequented by nobles, wealthy merchants, adventurers, and powerful people seeking indulgence far from civilized eyes.
And Morgana herself was surrounded by rumors.
Some claimed she was former nobility. Others whispered she once belonged to assassins hidden beneath the capital. A few drunken adventurers swore she rivaled guild elites in strength.
Seeing her standing casually beside a bed somehow felt stranger than all the stories.
Morgana studied Lyra quietly.
“What happened to you?”
The question stabbed directly into her chest.
Marshall. The dungeon. The betrayal.
Useful enough to gather treasure. Nothing more.
Lyra shoved the memories down immediately.
“…Mana exhaustion,” she answered carefully. “I pushed myself too hard.”
Technically true.
Morgana didn’t look convinced.
Then her eyes drifted downward.
“…Interesting.”
Lyra followed her gaze.
Soft pink mana curled lazily around her fingertips.
Even now.
The crystal.
Right.
Lyra instinctively pulled her hands back.
Morgana’s expression sharpened immediately.
Not fear.
Fascination.
“Pink mana,” Morgana murmured quietly.
Lyra swallowed nervously.
“…Is that bad?”
Morgana leaned slightly closer, violet eyes narrowing.
“I’ve studied mana abnormalities for decades,” she said calmly. “And I have never seen naturally occurring mana behave like this.”
That was not reassuring.
“So,” Morgana continued softly, “where did it come from?”
Lyra hesitated.
Marshall was a Paragon. The ruins were connected to the Demon King. And she had absolutely no idea how dangerous this knowledge actually was.
“…I found a crystal,” she admitted slowly.
Morgana remained silent.
“It dissolved into my body,” Lyra continued quietly. “After that, my mana changed.”
For the first time, Morgana’s composure visibly shifted.
Not shock.
Excitement.
Real excitement.
Then Morgana reached forward gently and took Lyra’s wrist.
The moment their skin touched, the pink mana brightened instantly.
Both women noticed.
Lyra’s stomach tightened.
The mana reacted almost eagerly to the contact.
Warmth spread slowly through her body while the pink glow wrapped around Morgana’s silver mana instead of rejecting it.
Morgana’s eyes narrowed further.
“…Responsive,” she murmured.
Lyra’s heartbeat quickened involuntarily.
“What does that mean?”
Morgana released her wrist slowly before standing and moving toward a nearby table lined with crystal instruments.
“It means your mana structure changed fundamentally,” she said calmly.
Her voice grew quieter.
“And I suspect it now carries traces of demonic succubus mana.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
Lyra stared at her blankly.
“…Demonic?”
Morgana nodded slowly.
“Human mana should not be compatible with it,” she explained. “But somehow your body adapted instead of collapsing.”
Lyra looked down at the pink glow drifting around her fingers.
Warm. Alive. Wrong.
Then Morgana turned back toward her.
“I’d like to run a few tests,” she said calmly.
Lyra stiffened immediately.
“…Tests?”
“Nothing harmful,” Morgana replied smoothly. “But if we don’t understand how your mana behaves, it may eventually destroy you.”
After Marshall, trusting powerful people suddenly felt impossible.
Morgana noticed the hesitation instantly.
“You can refuse,” she said softly. “But ignorance rarely protects anyone.”
Lyra stared silently at the pink mana drifting around her fingertips.
Then slowly nodded.
“…Alright.”
Morgana smiled faintly.
“Good girl.”
Lyra’s face heated immediately.
Morgana noticed that too.