Villain Origin : Every Crime I Commit Helps Me Level Up-Chapter 43: Dominion Protocol

"We should get you to bed," André said softly, though his body remained still, not moving away from the intimate proximity they’d found themselves in.

Gia swayed slightly, her hand coming up to rest on his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her palm. "Not yet," she breathed, her eyes searching his in the dim hallway light filtering through the window at the end of the corridor. "I want... I want to be with you, André."

The admission hung between them like a bridge neither could cross back over once traversed. André felt his pulse quicken despite himself, his breath catching somewhere between his lungs and throat. He’d always cared for Gia deeply—as his best friend, someone whose presence had become as natural and necessary as breathing. But this territory they were entering felt foreign, uncharted, dangerous in its intimacy.

"I’m not sure that’s a good idea," he said slowly, each word carefully measured and placed. "You’ve been drinking, Gia. I don’t want you to do anything you might regret when the sun comes up."

She smiled then, a small, knowing curve of her lips that sent electricity crackling down his spine. "Oh, André," she murmured, her hand sliding up to curl around the back of his neck, fingers threading through the short hair there. "I’ve wanted this for so long, I can’t remember a time when my only regret wouldn’t be if I didn’t at least try."

His brows drew together in confusion, his mind scrambling to process her words. "What do you mean?"

Gia leaned closer, her forehead coming to rest against his, their breath mingling in the small space between them. "I got drunk on purpose tonight," she confessed, her voice dropping to something low and intimate that seemed to wrap around him like silk. "Because I knew if I stayed sober, I’d never have the courage to tell you how I feel. I wanted... I needed you to see me tonight, André. Not just as Gia, your loyal friend, but as someone you might actually want to kiss."

His breath hitched at the word ’kiss,’ his mind racing through implications and possibilities. "Gia..."

She tilted her head up, her eyes meeting his, dark and intent in the hallway’s shifting shadows. "Kiss me," she whispered, the words barely audible but heavy with longing. "Please. Just once. So I can know what it feels like."

André hesitated for the briefest heartbeat before his mouth descended on hers in a kiss that stole the breath from both their lungs. Gia made a soft sound against his lips, her fingers tightening in his hair as she pulled him closer, deeper into the contact. She tasted like summer wine and something uniquely her own, her mouth moving against his with a fervor that set his blood singing.

When they finally broke apart, both were left breathing hard, cheeks flushed, eyes dark with something that hadn’t existed between them moments before. Gia ran her tongue across her bottom lip, as if savoring the taste he’d left behind.

"Wow," she breathed, the word floating between them like a prayer. "That was..."

André swallowed hard, his hands finding their way to her hips without conscious thought. "Yeah. Wow."

She smiled, slow and sultry, a glint of something playful dancing in her eyes. "So what happens now? Do we pretend that didn’t happen and go our separate ways? Or..."

She let the question hang unfinished, her fingers toying with the hem of his shirt in a way that made his pulse thunder in his ears. André’s body was already responding to her proximity, but as he looked down at her—his best friend, someone he genuinely cared for—uncertainty crept in like fog.

What if this changed everything between them irreversibly? What if he somehow messed it up, or she woke up tomorrow filled with regret? Could their friendship survive crossing this particular line?

As if reading the conflict written across his features, Gia stepped back slightly, her expression softening with understanding. "Hey," she murmured, reaching up to cup his cheek with gentle fingers. "We don’t have to do anything else tonight. I just wanted you to know how I feel. And now you do."

She leaned in to press one last feather-soft kiss to his lips before turning and opening her bedroom door. "Thank you for tonight," she whispered into the space between them. "For everything."

And then she was gone, slipping into her room and closing the door behind her with a quiet click that seemed to echo through the hallway like a gunshot in cathedral silence.

André stood there for a long moment, his heart hammering against his ribs, his mind struggling to process what had just occurred. The warmth of her lips still lingered on his mouth, the memory of her touch burning against his skin like a brand. He finally turned and walked toward his own room on legs that felt disconnected from his body, each step heavier than the last.

The hallway stretched before him like a tunnel leading into unknown territory, shadows dancing along the walls where moonlight couldn’t quite reach. His footsteps were muffled by the worn carpet runner, creating a rhythm that seemed to match the thundering of his pulse. When he reached his door, he paused with his hand hovering over the handle, processing the magnitude of what had just shifted between them.

She planned this, he realized, the understanding settling in his consciousness like a stone dropping into still water. She got drunk deliberately. She orchestrated this entire encounter.

The knowledge should have triggered some emotional response—guilt, perhaps, or concern for her vulnerability. Instead, there was only a strange sense of inevitability, as if every moment of their friendship had been leading inexorably to this crossroads.

As soon as André closed his bedroom door behind him, silence wrapped around him like a living thing—thick, heavy, and somehow expectant. The room was shrouded in darkness except for the pale glow of moonlight filtering through curtains that hadn’t been fully drawn. For a heartbeat, he simply stood there with his back against the door, letting the quiet settle into his bones.

That’s when reality shifted.

A pulse rippled through the air like a stone thrown into calm water. The familiar space around him seemed to shimmer at the edges, bending in ways that defied physics as something fundamental altered in the fabric of his existence. André’s vision blurred momentarily, then sharpened with supernatural clarity that made every detail of the room appear hyperreal.

A glow began to manifest before him, coalescing into readable text that hung suspended in the air like words written in light itself.

[The Karmic System]

> [System Alert] — New Pathway Unlocked: Dominion Protocol

André’s eyes reflected the ethereal glow as he read, his expression remaining carefully neutral despite the implications beginning to unfold in his mind. He didn’t flinch or startle. He simply absorbed the information with the same methodical attention he’d give to any other critical data.

> Dominion Protocol

You have unlocked a progression mode optimized for accelerated karmic gains through female followers. In this mode, karmic resonance reaches maximum efficiency when subjects willingly submit to your influence—emotionally, physically, and sexually. Every act of devotion strengthens your connection and deepens your control.

He studied the words with analytical precision, his lips pressed into a thin line. The text pulsed gently with its own inner light, as if alive and waiting for his acknowledgment of its significance.

Of course it would manifest like this, he thought with something approaching dark amusement. The system had always fed on power dynamics, on control, on the careful manipulation of human nature. This was simply another tool in its arsenal—more intimate than others, perhaps, but following the same fundamental principles.

He ran a hand through his hair once, the gesture slow and deliberate, then refocused on the floating display.

> Followers gained through intimacy yield a higher karmic conversion rate than standard subordinates.

Sexual submission represents the most potent form of resonance available.**

Loyalty earned through this pathway stabilizes system synchronization, allowing for accelerated skill unlocking, enhanced stat progression, and deeper affinity development.

That gave him pause, his analytical mind processing the information with cold efficiency. This wasn’t merely about power anymore—it was about optimization. Speed. Control channeled through the most primal and fundamental of human connections. The system was offering him a shortcut, a way to accelerate his development through channels that ran deeper than fear or simple dominance.

But he wasn’t naive enough to ignore the true cost of such advancement.

André moved away from the door with fluid grace, walking to the center of the room where moonlight created a pale circle on the carpet. He settled into a cross-legged position, staring down at his hands. They looked familiar but felt somehow foreign, carrying the weight of memories that weren’t entirely his own.

This body had belonged to someone else once. Someone who had cared for Gia in ways that still echoed faintly in the deepest recesses of his consciousness.

Gia.

She meant something to the original inhabitant of this form. The person who had lived here before Alex had claimed this existence as his own. Even now, something about her voice, her unwavering loyalty, her genuine warmth struck resonant chords inside him like distant music. Fragments of emotion that weren’t quite his but weren’t entirely foreign either.

But he consciously shut down those echoes before they could take root and complicate what needed to be done.

This wasn’t the time for sentiment or hesitation. Those were luxuries he couldn’t afford, he was the consciousness that inhabited this body now. Alex. The mind that had awakened in this flesh, claimed this life, and would determine its trajectory. If she was going to follow anyone, it would be him—not the ghost of whoever had lived in this skin before.

The system continued its presentation, new text materializing with an almost eager luminescence.

> [New Task Generated] — Initiate Your First Dominion Follower

Target: Gia Sinn

> Requirement: Elicit a voluntary act of submission that signals complete emotional and sexual surrender.

The act must be unmistakably intimate and motivated by genuine desire to serve—not fear, coercion, or manipulation.

André drew a slow, controlled breath through his nose, his breathing remaining measured and steady despite the magnitude of what was being asked.

The system operated without concern for human emotions, for the complex web of feelings and history that made relationships meaningful. But he understood those dynamics well enough to recognize how this scenario would unfold. He grasped the psychological architecture that would make such submission not just possible, but inevitable.

He would simultaneously protect and utilize as circumstances demanded. She represented the perfect candidate for this particular form of advancement—someone who trusted him completely, who wanted to be close to him, who would give herself willingly if he simply asked in the right way.

Her desire for intimacy had been crystal clear in their hallway encounter. The foundation was already laid.

And he would give her that opportunity—not because he was some heartless manipulator, but because the path forward demanded it. Because power required sacrifice, and sometimes that sacrifice came from those who loved you most deeply.

The display shifted again, harsh red text materializing like a warning written in blood.

> [WARNING] — Task must be completed within 2 hours.

Failure to comply will result in system lockout: 24 hours of complete bodily paralysis.

(No movement. No speech. No autonomous control.)

His jaw tightened imperceptibly, muscles tensing as the severity of the consequence registered fully.

Twenty-four hours of absolute helplessness. In a world where power meant survival, where threats could emerge from any direction, such vulnerability would be tantamount to signing his own death warrant.

But he didn’t hesitate, not truly. This was the price of advancement, the demand of the system that had become inextricably woven into his existence. He’d understood from the beginning that progress would require sacrifices. He simply hadn’t anticipated that the first real test would involve someone so close to his heart—or whatever remained of it.

He rose to his feet with fluid grace as the screen shifted one final time, displaying its concluding message with matter-of-fact clarity.

> A Dominion Follower transcends the role of sexual partner.

She becomes a conduit for power. Her growth fuels your advancement. Her devotion amplifies your potential.

The more completely she serves you—mind, body, and soul—the deeper your karmic synchronization becomes.

The implications were staggering in their scope. This wasn’t merely about physical intimacy—it was about forging a symbiotic relationship where her very existence would enhance his power exponentially. She would become part of his strength, her loyalty and submission translating directly into measurable advancement.

He stood in the room’s center now, bathed in moonlight that painted him in shades of silver and shadow, giving his form an almost otherworldly quality. The system’s glow had faded, leaving him alone with the weight of his decision.

’You’re mine,’ Gia, he thought with absolute certainty — whether you fully understand it yet or not. As he stood, he proceeded to her room.