It was quite the comedic situation from an outsider's perspective.
Both of them were doing their best to act unbothered, but did either truly succeed?
Iris' case was relatively simple.
She was a woman who'd lived for over ten thousand years, but her lifetime being so long was precisely the reason why it was impossible for her to control herself now.
She'd never been in a situation like this before.
She was raised by women, and once the responsibility of Prismatic Sun Holy Land was passed to her, even those people became less frequent in her life until they disappeared altogether.
The concept of relationships between men and women was probably the only thing in the universe she was completely clueless about.
Because the men who chased her were never sincere.
They either wanted the status of "the man who conquered the universe's most beautiful woman," or "the husband of the Prismatic Sun Holy Master."
Hidden intentions could never be hidden in her eyes, so she saw their inner darkness clearly.
That was why she never made contact with men in this fashion before.
Not only had one never touched her outside of battle, where the specific area Damien was touching had never come into play, but she had never felt anything positive towards a man in her life.
Adding on top of the fact that she was a lonely existence, a person without friends and only business partners and allies, she truly could not fathom the current circumstances.
The faint hue on her face wasn't so faint anymore. She was bright red, but she kept her eyes closed and her head turned hoping Damien couldn't see it.
But how could he not?
Her breathing was so erratic that her chest forcefully made itself pronounced in his grasp. Her heart was practically a supercar in its own right, and each pulse was felt viscerally by him.
So her state was extremely evident to him.
And it only made him more conscious of what was happening!
'Stay focused, Damien. You're a good man. You're a good man.'
He continued chanting the mantra to fight back his intrusive thoughts.
It was strange for him.
As someone who hadn't thought about other women for several decades, it was incredibly strange to feel this flustered.
But he couldn't focus on that, because despite the awkward tension softening the situation, Damien was extremely aware of Iris' pain.
If he wanted to enjoy her expressions and explore this novel and long-forgotten feeling, he had to make sure she was in a position to do it with him, right?
"Huu…"
Damien took a deep breath, finally clearing away his useless thoughts.
He put his senses into his mana, losing feeling in his hand as his mind traveled into her body and escaped the physical plane, arriving at her soul.
"Hmm…"
Damien frowned.
He had no ability to view the soul properly, so Iris' soul space manifested as a sort of symbolism of its true state.
He saw countless plague bearers in a kingdom of clouds, slowly corroding its purity and blackening its light.
Without hesitation, he extended his hand and allowed Void Mana to run rampant.
The target was set.
Only the plague bearers could be touched.
That was the first step of the process.
In reality, Iris' eyes widened as she felt the changes. She also temporarily ignored the situation, focusing her attention on the mysterious energy flowing through her soul.
It wasn't targeting her soul at all. Instead, it was directly targeting the "spread" of the plague.
Slowly but surely, like a wave of fog rolling over a city, her soul was cocooned by the mysterious energy, and the plague stopped spreading.
'Good. Now…'
There were no plague bearers remaining, so the next step was purification.
'Hmm…'
Damien didn't quite know how to proceed, but it didn't matter.
As he discovered long ago, not knowing was not enough to stop him.
As long as he gave the command and had sufficient qualifications, the Void would enact his will.
'Purify.'
He gave the command and waited.
The rolling cloud of Void Mana didn't do anything at first, but after a few seconds, it submerged itself into the cloud kingdom and dyed it a different shade of black.
Iris' pain was reduced immensely in that single move, and with the passing of just a few more seconds, she felt the miraculous changes taking place.
Her soul was being purified, but that was really only one factor of what was happening.
She was being strengthened by something she couldn't sense.
It was magical.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling, like a calming massage surpassing all others.
She became aware of what was happening in the real plane again, but she didn't reject it.
When those two sensations came together, they gave her warmth and comfort she'd never experienced before.
All her worries faded away as she quietly enjoyed the feeling.
Damien's mind returned to reality at some point.
The process ended as well.
He retracted his hand from her chest, ignoring the unwillingness in his heart, and quietly sat back.
The two remained in silence for a long time, not moving an inch.
It would be a long while before they finally returned to their journey.
***
From there, over a year passed.
Damien and Iris started moving towards the Ancient Sovereign again at some point, and while neither said a word about what happened in the cave, their relationship dynamic had gone through a subtle change.
They didn't feel strange or awkward expressing physical closeness, like a wall between them was broken down, and that change affected them in more ways than one.
Their synergy in battle rose to a state of perfection. They could essentially read each other's thoughts in battle, allowing them to take down enemies with ultimate efficiency.
And the number of battles they went through in that year was not slight.
In total, they'd eliminated over 300 enemies, with over 15 of them being on the same level as the Plague Lord.
But through all these battles, neither of them received more than surface-level injuries.
After all, Damien didn't stay stagnant.
The more they killed, the more strength he gained, and the more support he could provide.
It got to a point where Damien no longer needed to hide and wait for the perfect moment, because he could directly enter battle with Iris and take down the enemy with his power.
Plus, Divine Energy's effect on his body became less significant with his growth.
Currently, they were already nearing their final destination, the Ancient Sovereign's location.
But they had to make a stop.
Damien stood over a river of ink.
It was the remains of the enemy he'd just slaughtered.
That man…
He was even stronger than the Plague Lord. It took him and Iris using everything they had to finally take him down.
His title was the Void Lord, and he was a Nox Demigod who practiced space to a greater level than anyone else.
Killing that man held more significance than either of them expected.
Because the second he achieved victory, Damien felt something expand in his mind and soul.
The time had come.
He understood the path.
With this victory…
He finally found the tethering point between Elemental-Samsara and Spacetime.
