Dyon looked at the silver haired beauty clinging to his arm, not understanding anymore whether that smile of hers that made his heart quake was truly the woman she was… Or if she was something else entirely…
She always seemed so carefree and honest, yet something about her was making Dyon uneasy.
Dyon was a person that had pride etched deeply into his bones. The only people he'd set it aside for without hesitation, were those he loved. And yet, there was a deep competitive fire stirring within him the more time he spent with Luna.
On one hand, the persona he had taken over wanted to love and fawn over this woman. It was to the point where he wanted to keep her on a pedestal and never touch her. The fact that Luna was still a virgin spoke volumes about that truth. How could you be married to such a beautiful woman and yet never touch her? Dyon's demon sage blood was running wild at such a ridiculous notion. That feeling only grew due to the fact he had integrated another 8%.
But, on the other hand, there was Dyon's true personality. When had he ever lost to a woman just because of how they looked?
In truth, Dyon didn't mind losing to his wives. He never felt the need to "one up" them because their victory felt like his. He didn't feel inferior at all even though he knew that both Ri and Madeleine were more powerful than him after he awoke from his coma. He felt nothing but happiness.
However, that was where the oddity for his feelings with Luna shone through. Whereas with Amphorae, the previous persona of this body and his true persona had merged in their love of her, with Luna, they stood diametrically opposed.
The push and pull was eating him alive. But, the more he sifted through his memories of his past persona, the more his competitive nature flamed.
This was simply the way Dyon was. When he met Mithrandir for the first time in the Elvin Kingdom, she had tried to seduce him in order to enslave him. Instead of succeeding, she ended up losing face in front of thousands, even moaning and clinging to him in the end.
When Jade tried to toy with his emotions, he led her on until she was panting on the floor, calling out his name.
In the beginning, both of those women tried to win over his heart with their beauty and charm, and in the end, both had lost their way, falling for him instead.
Mithrandir likely hadn't accepted Zaltarish's advances just yet because he still cast a shadow over her heart. As for Jade, regardless of how sociopathic she was, she had never once tried to kill Dyon. In fact, the reason she set fire to the orphanage and killed Miss Everdeen to begin with was to force Dyon into despair so that he'd come to her and forget about Madeleine. In the end, her actions only brought Dyon closer to Ri and she was likely a large portion of the reason why Dyon opened himself up to a second wife to begin with.
The pattern was clear. Dyon didn't take kindly to anyone toying with his heart. He rarely hit women – although he wouldn't hold back if he had to – but, he would always respond in kind. If Luna wanted to play games, he'd play. If she was going to betray him, she wouldn't be getting out of this unscathed.
Dyon couldn't help but think how embarrassing it would be to be betrayed by a wife you were married to for decades, only for everyone to find out that she had not only led you by her finger, she also managed to keep her virginity this whole time. How ridiculous.
Dyon wasn't a man who was forceful with his women. In every case of virginity he took, every single one of them asked him to do it, often times more than once before he did so. He waited patiently for Madeleine. Ri directly asked him to while he was trying to take it slow. Clara quite literally bound him to a bed and did it herself. As for Amphorae, he was willing to wait even longer for her heart to heal, but she directly asked him as well.
But, right now, Dyon didn't feel like waiting, or being patient. His two personas were clashing with each other, fighting over the right to dominate his thoughts.
"I was worried when you didn't come to me last night, you know." Luna said softly. She didn't admit it, but a large reason for her mistake this morning was because Dyon didn't come. She was flustered and didn't know how to feel. In a complete daze, and her heart being left in a complex place, she made a mistake.
In Luna's mind, she already knew that she had lost Dyon's trust. In fact, she knew that this was the case long before this morning because she had directly asked about it.
Back then, she didn't think it would effect her much. But, slowly watching Dyon's demeanor change… Slowly forming back to the way he once was… The reason he caught her eye to begin with began to resurface, burning away decades of what had become normal for her and becoming something else entirely.
The situation was more complex than Dyon had the heart to accept. And maybe Luna couldn't accept it either. All she knew was what she said that fateful day… What's done is done.
Dyon silently took a glance at Luna. When he heard her say those words, his heart was immediately caught in his throat. All fighting between his personas seemed to calm down, both seemingly wanting to comfort her.
Although something at the back of Dyon's mind was nagging him that this was just another play, another façade she put up.
However, the one thing that wouldn't ever leave Dyon, something etched into his bones, something he built his dao on… Was his arrogance. Even if this Luna had his other persona's love, he'd be the one to choose how he expressed it.
There were two reasons why Dyon took Luna on this trip. The first was that he didn't trust her to be alone in their clan without him. The second was more calculated. This was already his third day here, and with so few days remaining in his five-day deadline, this would be his best opportunity to truly test this wife of his.
It was time he went on the attack.
"You know, there's something I've always wondered." Dyon said playfully. He lightly pulled his arm away from Luna's grasp, instead wrapping it around her small frame.
Luna froze for a moment, her chest heating up under Dyon's overwhelming masculine smell. Although Dyon no longer imperceptibly leaked demonic will, since it was currently sealed, with his growing body cultivation, his existence alone was enough to shake the hearts of women.
With his increased essence integration, and the break through of his soul, all coupled with the fact he was now approaching 20 years old and true adulthood, it could be said that Dyon now had a sophistication and alluring Presence to him that he didn't have before.
"What's that?" Luna managed to speak, but her words were soft. It wasn't only that Dyon was particularly alluring to her right now – after all, she was a married woman who had never been truly touched by her husband, what woman wouldn't be frustrated? – it was also that she was afraid of the question. Was Dyon about to confront her? Now?
"I was just wondering –"
The words seemed to tumble out of Dyon's mouth much too slowly, and Luna's anxiety only made the situation worse. To her, time might as well have been stopped.
" – how special this wife of mine had to be to catch the attention of an Emperor God Clan on this small planet of ours."
Luna froze. Was her husband toying with her? This question was right on the borderline. On one hand, it directly referred to maybe the most key thing leading to this whole situation. But, on another, it could also be completely innocent. After all, wasn't she the one who brought up when they first met? How could she blame him for continuing the conversation she started?
