’Hot! So hot!’. Of course Levi wasn’t thinking of the numerous swaying delicacy in front of him.
He was talking about the heat.
Golden light bled across the landscape, bouncing off the slow, bubbling currents of molten golden lava that surrounded them.
The realm was like some version of a feudal Japanese village— slanted, wooden houses with tiled roofs, their paint long since charred away. Some buildings had sunk entirely, leaving only their rooftops visible above the golden flood. Others tilted dangerously at odd angles, half submerged, as though they were struggling against the lava and losing.
Levi wiped the sweat from his brow for the umpteenth time, his hair sticking to his forehead. The air shimmered around him, rippling like water in the sun, every breath thick and scalding. It was as if someone had stuffed him into an oven and then turned it up just to watch him roast.
’It’s like hell’. He thought, his vision swimming. The heat wrapped around him like a living thing, making him feel as though his blood was boiling inside his skin.
They advanced by leaping from roof to roof, each step precarious. Levi followed reluctantly.
’At this point it’s better to just jump into the lava and die’. He thought in annoyance. The annoyance came from the fact that the rest of the crew seems to be thriving.
It was as if the heat didn’t exist, he could even see Cecilia practically gulping down the air.
He jumped from one rooftop— completely submerged save for its blackened tiles— to another that was only half-sunken. His foot landed right on the edge. There was a sickening crack.
Levi’s stomach plummeted. His arms pinwheeled in panic, his brain filling with one thought.
He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a shrill, undignified scream, bracing for the fiery impact. But instead of blistering heat, he felt... softness. In fact, absurdly soft.
Cautiously, he cracked open one eye. A woman— one of Cecilia’s guards— had him in her arms, bridal-style.
"Thank goo—". He started, but before he could finish, his eyes caught sight of the mass directly in front of his eyes.
’Definitely E cup’. It was that huge.
"Hold tight". She said flatly, catching him red handed at his staring. Levi averted his gaze in embarrassment.
Levi clung to her like she was the last cold drink on Earth.
She then crouched and leapt, her boots slamming onto the rooftop. One powerful jump later, they were back with the others.
He slid off her back, muttering, "Uh... thanks." She didn’t reply— just gave a curt nod before turning away.
That’s when Levi caught Cecilia’s gaze. Her eyes dripped disdain, the kind you usually reserved for dung you stepped on by accident. He pretended not to notice.
The heat pressed in again, relentless, burning through his clothes and skin. Sweat rolled down his temples in fat droplets.
Thinking about the heat, he thought back to the fleeting moment, when he thought— purely sarcastically— about throwing himself into the lava just to end the misery.
But judging by the way the roof had given way earlier, it seemed the realm was already trying to help him with that.
’Is this the legendary jinx’. Levi thought in amusement, eager to turn his mind away from this blistering heat.
[It’s purely coincidentally. Don’t sweat it] The system replied in his head.
’And are you so sure?". Levi replied, this was the only way he could divert his attention away from the horrifying heat.
[Of course, unless you are the son of Casualties] The system replied.
’Hmm that makes sense’.
"Are you okay?". Levi snapped from his deep thoughts to see Lyra looking at him with and expression filled with worry.
Levi visibly gulped, unlike the rest of the crew Lyra was a commoner and from their past interaction, he came to know that her element was water.
Levi visibly gulped, in the heat three of her suit buttons had come undone. His gaze— purely by accident, of course— followed a bead of sweat as it slipped down into the shadowed valley between...
He coughed sharply into his hand. "A-am not so good."
Lyra nodded. "I was conserving my energy for a fight... but this heat is too much. I’m going to release some of my origin energy to cool things off. I thought I’d ask if you’d be intere—"
"I am interested!". Levi blurted, louder than intended. Heads turned. He coughed again, trying to look casual. "I... I am interested."
"Oh. Good," she said with a shy smile. "But I can only extend it to about three feet." Her gaze flickered away, then back. "I don’t know if you’d be comfortable with that."
Three feet? I could practically reach out and— His brain short-circuited, the lustful part firing up emergency daydream protocols, ways to take ’advantage’.
"Hello?". Lyra snapped her fingers in front of his face.
He jerked back to reality. "Sorry— zoned out." Follow current novels on 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
"No problem." She stepped closer, her overheated skin brushing his own overheated skin, lighting up a new kind of heat.
The moment Lyra released her origin energy, Levi felt it.
It was like stepping into the shade after hours under a burning sun— only this shade was alive, cool tendrils of energy wrapping around him and sinking into his skin.
His shoulders relaxed instantly, the suffocating heat retreating just enough for him to breathe without feeling like he was inhaling Pakura’s scorch release.
"Ohh..." he almost moaned out loud, catching himself at the last second and turning it into a strained cough.
Lyra smiled faintly, her eyes soft. "Better?"
"Yes!! Very much". Levi said, though he made sure to keep it under his breath so Cecilia wouldn’t hear.
But the bliss came with its own... distractions. Three feet was dangerously close, and now that the heat wasn’t frying his brain, he was far too aware of the delicate scent of her— something crisp and fresh, like rainwater cutting through smoke. Every step they took together, her hips brushed with his, sending little jolts down his spine.
[At least you are enjoying yourself now] The system’s voice was dry.
’You know? For once, you might actually be right’. Levi replied mentally.
They kept moving from rooftop to rooftop, the golden light glinting off the lava below. A single misstep and they’d be cooked. Levi stayed closer to Lyra than strictly necessary— not that he’d admit it.
Behind them, the air shimmered violently, a hot gust bursting upward from a distant fissure. Cecilia’s voice cut through the heat haze. "Keep moving. We are close."
Her tone was calm, but Levi caught the faintest edge of anticipation in it. Whatever the artifact was... she wanted it badly.
And that, Levi thought, was probably going to be a problem.