The mayor's office was dimly lit, lit only by a few candles and moonlight streaming from the windows. The room was lavish—the desk carved from rich marble, the floor covered in deep red carpet with an intricate golden pattern on it.

  In the center of it all, on a large, plush red armchair, sat the town's leader: a gem sprite named Sóley Storstrand.

  Only this wasn't the mayor as the people of Phenomena City knew her. This was Lust—disguised in the mayor's skin.

  Sóley lounged back in the armchair, one leg draped over the other as she lazily twirled a strand of crimson hair around her snow-white finger. Her golden eyes gleamed with amusement.

  "Oh good," she said. "I was hoping you'd show up sooner."

  In the shadows near the doorway, Shi’an tensed at the words. Of course she was expecting them.

  She had been right. Lust had been waiting for them.

  Steeling herself, Shi’an stepped into the candlelight, revealing herself.

  "Sóley," she greeted coolly, her voice carefully neutral—if ever so slightly strained.

  Sóley's smirk widened. "Shi'an," she drawled, her gaze traveling lazily over Shi'an's form from head to toe. Then, her smirk curled into a sly smile as she uncrossed her legs, resting both feet flat on the floor.

  "Well well well, would you look at you," she purred.

  Shi'an raised an eyebrow at the tone, fighting the urge to shudder in disgust as she replied curtly:

  "Cut the formalities. We both know you're not Sóley anymore.”

  Sóley's grin only sharpened, revealing a flash of teeth as she leaned forward in the chair—elbows resting on her knees.

  "Oh?" she cooed, voice dripping with amusement. "And just who do you think I am then?"

  Her golden eyes gleamed under the candlelight like molten metal, knowing and taunting all at once.

  Shi’an didn’t flinch this time either though…because honestly? She had enough of this bitch’s games already anyway so why not call out what everyone knew here right now too?

  So instead…

  She answered flatly: "Lust."

  At that name, Sóley laughed—long and hard, the sound echoing off the stone walls like an explosion of mockery.

  "And here I thought you were one of the dense ones…!" she finally managed out with a scoff.

  As the last echo of her laughter faded, Sóley leaned back in the armchair again, crossing one leg over the other.

  "Congrats," she drawled, golden gaze glimmering, "you got it right on your first try, sweetheart. But anyways...I'm in control of Lust, not the other way around."

  Shi'an gritted her teeth at the condescending tone. But she kept her cool as she crossed her arms, expression hardening.

  "So," she said icily. "What's stopping me from killing you right here then?"

  Sóley laughed again at the challenge. "Oh honey," she purred, golden eyes glinting. "You actually think it's that easy?"

  She held up a finger as if scolding a child.

  "Let me clue you in on something."

  Shi'an's jaw clenched at the patronizing tone. But she remained outwardly stoic, replying with a dry, "Enlighten me.”

  Sóley smirked, leaning back further in the armchair.

  "In order to successfully possess another being, you must have a stronger mental fortitude than the individual you wish to possess. Mine is higher than Lust's, so while her soul is in my body, she can't control me, nor act through me. I'm still myself—still Sóley, just with Lust sealed inside of me.”

  The revelation was like a bucket of ice water. Shi'an's heart clenched. She had been right about the mayor being possessed, but…but the situation was far more complicated than she'd realized.

  Her voice was tight as she replied, eyes never leaving Sóley:

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  "And let me guess—we can't just exorcise Lust from your body either, can we?”

  Sóley chuckled, her demeanor cocky and relaxed.

  "Bingo," she drawled, golden eyes glimmering. "Now you're catching on. You see,"

  She leaned forward slightly, propping her chin on one hand in a mockery of thoughtfulness.

  "Any attempt to forcefully expel Lust from my body will also expel me from myself."

  Shi’an froze.

  Her breath hitched, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. No. That couldn't be true, it just couldn’t.

  But Sóley's expression was unmistakable: the cold certainty of someone who had already done the math and lost.

  "...Then what?" Shi'an whispered hoarsely. "What do you want from us?!"

  Sóley's smirk widened as she reclined back in the chair again with a lazy stretch before answering:

  "Simple."

  She raised one finger dramatically—as if delivering a grand announcement to an audience far larger than just Shi’an, Alice and Due:

  "I need your help exercising Lust out of me."

  "Uh, okay, Miss Bikini Armor," Alice quipped.

  Sóley raised an eyebrow at Alice, amused by her sarcastic remark.

  "I'm glad you find my attire so 'ridiculous', dear," she drawled, golden gaze glinting. "But I'll have you know it's far more comfortable than it looks.

  She shifted in the armchair, drawing attention to the shimmering fabric of her armored bikini, which looked far more expensive now that it was under proper lighting.

  "And besides," she purred, "You're not in a position to insult me. I have to wear this because of Lust's Passive Ability: Scanty Strongsuit. The less I wear, the more powerful and durable I become. Hence why I'm only wearing...well, this."

  Then, without missing a beat, Sóley stood up from the chair gracefully despite how revealing (and frankly distracting) her outfit was—and grabbed the spear leaning against the armchair. She took slow steps to the entrance of the building, beckoning the others to follow. Standing outside, Sóley tightened her grip on her spear, then:

  "Just in case you don't believe what I said about Scanty Strongsuit...here,"

  Sóley aimed her spear at the moon, cocking back her arm before giving it a swift throw followed by a grunt. Four seconds later, the spear pierced a large hole through the moon and returned to Sóley's hand with a soft flash.

  While Alice just stood there, jaw dropped, Shi’an's eyes were wide as saucers. Scanty Strongsuit. Of course. She had read about it before.

  It was, essentially, one of the most powerful Passive Abilities possible. The longer a person wore less clothing (or in this case, "armor", for whatever reason), the more durable and strong they became.

  And Sóley had just thrown her spear all the way into the moon. AND put a big hole through it.

  "...Holy hell," Alice murmured. Due just let out a low whistle.

  Sóley smirked at their reactions. "Impressed?"

  She leaned nonchalantly against her spear—making a point to give them another view of her attire in the process.

  Then, when she spoke again, her voice was smug, almost gloating:

  "You see? This is why Scanty Strongsuit is so powerful. It's practically unbeatable. And that's not even the best part."

  Shi'an stiffened, bracing herself for what Sóley was about to say next…

  Sóley grinned, knowing she now had everyone's undivided attention.

  "Unlike any other Passive Ability in existence," she purred, golden gaze glinting. "It evolves…"

  She paused dramatically, drawing out the suspense before revealing the last piece of the puzzle:

  "…and evolves into a Secondary Ability."

  Shi’an's jaw dropped.

  There were a lot of things wrong with Scanty Strongsuit as-is. But the fact that it evolved somehow?

  "You've got to be kidding me," she breathed…

  Sóley just chuckled in return, leaning more heavily against her spear.

  "Nope. My Passive Ability is an anomaly among Passive Abilities," she explained, a note of smug pride in her voice.

  "Most Passive Abilities don't have the potential to evolve into anything else. Just their own stronger versions, if they're strong enough to start with. Mine? It gets an entirely different Ability. And that Ability's name..."

  She paused again, letting the suspense build to its peak.

  "...is Naked Warrior."

  The name alone sent a ripple of shock through the group.

  Alice choked on air, Due's ears flattened against his skull, and Shi’an—well. Shi’an looked like she had just been punched in the gut.

  Because Naked Warrior wasn't just some ridiculous-sounding Ability title to mock Sóley for later…

  It was one of only three abilities known across all realms that could grant an individual total invulnerability.

  And if what Sóley said was true? Then her current state (bikini armor included) wasn’t even close to being as powerful as she could actually get.

  Which meant…

  Shi’an swallowed hard before finally managing out:

  "...You're telling us you're holding back?"

  Sóley smirked wider at that question—her golden eyes practically glowing with amusement now as she replied smoothly:

  "Oh honey…I haven’t even started trying yet."

  "So uh, Sóley?" Alice spoke up.

  "Yes?"

  "Where are you from?"

  "Ah, I'm from Torsten. Why?"

  "Because..." Alice cleared her throat, "...Jeg kan snakke spr?ket."

  Sóley's face lit up like a little kid unwrapping a Christmas present. "Kan du? Hvor bra?"

  "Jeg kan snakke det godt," Alice replied calmly.

  Sóley's eyes widened in delight at hearing Alice speak her mother tongue.

  "Excellent!" she exclaimed, golden gaze gleaming. "Your pronunciation is spot on."

  Then, with a mischievous grin, Sóley replied:

  "Hvor mange spr?k kan du snakke, forresten?"

  Shi'an and Due's eyes darted between the two as they spoke.

  "S? langt har jeg l?rt fem spr?k," Alice replied perfectly.

  Sóley nodded approvingly, clearly impressed by Alice's linguistic skills.

  "Impressive," she replied, switching back to the common language. "I like you already. Most people struggle just to learn their first language adequately—let alone master others."

  She raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth as she observed Shi'an, Due, and then Alice again. "Now then—are we going to stand here gawking and chatting all night, or are we going to help me get Lust out of my head?"

  Shi’an snapped back into focus first, shaking off her shock and stepping forward with a determined nod.

  "Fine," Shi’an conceded sharply. "But you better not be playing games."

  Sóley grinned at Shi'an’s sharp tone as if saying: Oh honey…we both know who’s really playing games here, but she didn't rise to the bait. Instead, she turned on her heel and strode back into the mayoral office without another word—leaving Alice and Due to exchange a glance before following.

  Shi’an hesitated only a second longer before falling into step behind them.