•••
When Zayda finally summoned as much self-control as she possessed and pulled away from Evian to set off to the war meeting, Evian was left alone and it was a time he decided to make use of diligently.
Although the rest of his Squad had been excited and anticipated the meeting with Astrid Renan, Evian had been more occupied by a different excitement. Excitement for the gains that a time of War would provide.
Being in the Third Order might have put the likes of Gryon, Carleine, and Ember at a disadvantage in terms of participation but the Fourth Order, according to Zayda, was the sweet spot for starting Knights such as them. They might be used more for recon but they were bound to find themselves useful which she explained was important since War was a great time to rack up merit points.
Evian of course, was excited for chances at Soul Eating and for that reason, today was important... The remaining hours before Astrid Renan waged the definitive battle against the enemy were important to get his allies up to par.
With his Seal now stamped against their chest, Evian only needed to think about Ember and Carleine to have their minds opened to him so he could order them to make themselves available.
The two ladies never gave it a second thought. After all, they would much rather spend time in the company of their lover as opposed to being cramped with Knights they knew nothing about.
Exiting the rooms they shared with others and making their way to Zayda's quarters was easier than either of them would have expected and less than five minutes after they were called, they knocked raptly on the door.
"About time!" Ember said once she was in the room. She grabbed one of the shoulder straps of her battle attire, ready to pull it down and begin the process of stripping.
"You said it, Em," Carleine said with a lascivious smile as she started undoing the sash of her dress as well.
Evian shook his head slowly while eyeing the undressing ladies with an unhidden desire for their bodies. However, before either of them could go further than baring their breasts to his eyes, he held up a hand to call for decorum,
"While I do enjoy your enthusiasm, that will have to wait. I called you here for something else," he said, not at all surprised by the look of disappointment the ladies gave him especially since they had their eyes roaming all over his exposed chest with a flimsy bed sheet being the only thing blocking his hefty rod from sight.
"So why HAVE you called us here?" Carleine asked.
"Yeah... Oh wait, is this about Astrid? Is this about how she beat you up?" Ember asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"No, it's not. And she didn't beat me up," Evian said gently.
"But she cut you up?" Ember noted.
Evian paused and then nodded slowly,
"She did,"
"She also stabbed you," Carleine interjected.
"She did."
"And you were unable to lay a finger on her," Ember said.
"Seems like a beatdown to me," Carleine completed Ember's thought with a shrug while the two ladies shared a snigger.
The two ladies took deep breaths. Their previous smiles were all but completely gone from their faces and replaced with serious and determined expressions but it was Ember who spoke first,
"I am!"
Evian nodded as he had expected a quick response from her. Even if it was something she didn't speak about often, Evian remembered that her goal was to live— To never die so that she could remain an anchor and the only sort of remembrance for her late Mother. To live, Ember knew she needed strength and she was ready to make use of the opportunity Evian had granted her.
"I'm up for it too," Carleine said only a second later.
The two brought the 'Decadent and Pure Revolution Art' to the forefront of their minds and as they initiated the battle between Spiritual energy and Eldritch Energy to steadily increase their strengths, Evian let out at least half of his existing reserves and forced them into the bodies of the two.
Apart from the fact that using the 'Decadent and Pure Revolution Art' in front of the strangers they shared their quarters with would result in a likely reveal that would risk their lives, being immensely involved in this process was why Evian had called Ember and Carleine here, and had them cultivate right in front of him.
The Eldritch energy his Seal could grant them was much too little for the immense and sporadic growth they needed.
Both ladies grimaced at the pain that the battling energies caused them but they endured and never once let out as much as a groan.
Two hours later,
Evian heard and sensed footsteps approaching the quarters so he drew back his released Eldritch energy.
It had done what he needed it to do anyway and by the time Zayda pushed the door open and walked in slowly, she saw and heard an imperceptible and simultaneous snap that came from the bodies of the cross-legged Ember and Carleine as they broke through the barrier that kept the Fourth Order away from their reach.
Zayda shut the door instantly, very aware that this was not a scene anyone should get a whiff of.
"What's going on here?" she asked.
"What does it look like?" Evian asked with a chuckle as his eyes were wide in excitement and fascination.
"It looks Occultic!" Zayda said.
"It's progress..." Evian said.
Beneath the duo of Ember and Carleine, there were pentagrams interjected with what appeared to be spiritual seals. Both distinct structures were perfectly joined and in symbiosis and yet they battled on a fundamental level. They oozed their separate energies (Eldritch Energy and Spiritual Energy) but at the points where they met, a new, stranger energy was forming.
One that went against the natural order and contradicted the energies that had birthed it.
As he watched, Evian realized his goal of creating an energy that was very much like Spiritual Energy as it was like Eldritch energy might not go exactly as he wished but he grinned as the power he felt from it more than made up for this 'lack'.
Evian looked up at Zayda and stretched a hand toward her,
"Leave them to their cultivation. Come to me," he said, his voice mesmerizing in its seduction.
Zayda watched as the duo of Ember and Carliene had their bodies swelling with power and began to approach breakthroughs faster than should be possible but then she shut her eyes and ears to scenes she should have naturally abhorred and rather accepted her lover's invitation to cuddle against him while watching the impossible unfold right before her eyes.