The walls of Thornwatch rose from the mist like a gray scar on the horizon. Fifty feet of weathered stone, reinforced with iron bands and covered in climbing ivy that did nothing to soften the city’s brutal silhouette.

Guard towers jutted up at irregular intervals, torches flickering even in the afternoon light.

Kai pulled his hood lower as they approached the eastern gate.

’Last time I was here in the original game, this place was a hub for the third act. Black market, adventurer guilds, and a dungeon network that went deeper than anyone had ever mapped.’

Perfect place to get killed if I’m not cautious.

"Looks busy," Eliza said, her eyes looking at the walls.

"More guards than I’d expect for a border city."

Sera trotted ahead, her brown mare kicking up dust.

"I’ll scout the gate. Wait here."

She returned ten minutes later, her face grim.

"They’re checking everyone. Asking for names, business, and destination. Someone’s looking for someone."

’Not good. Although wanderers are welcome, I’m not sure how they are treated.’

Kai’s jaw tightened.

"We go in through the smuggler’s passage. There’s a tunnel network beneath the old temple district. Leads straight to the black market."

Eliza raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know that?"

"I read a lot."

’Also, I died in those tunnels fourteen times during my first playthrough. But sure. Let’s go with "read a lot."’

The smuggler’s passage was exactly as Kai remembered. narrow, damp, and smelling of mildew and blood.

They emerged through a false wall in a decrepit warehouse, stepping out into the chaotic heart of Thornwatch’s underbelly.

The black market was a maze of canvas awnings and rickety stalls. Merchants hawked everything from illegal potion ingredients to enchanted weapons that had definitely fallen off the back of a noble’s carriage.

Merchants were shouting to sell their products. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Kai found his contact at a stall selling "authentic dragon scales" that were clearly painted lizard hides.

The man was wiry, with a scarred face and fingers stained black from handling alchemical components.

"Name’s Corso. I hear things. What do you want to know?"

NPC interaction. Just like the games.

Kai slid a silver coin across the counter.

"What’s happening in Thornwatch? Why all the guards?"

Corso pocketed the coin smoothly.

"Two things. First, the ruins beneath the city have been acting up lately. Monster surges every three days. Something’s stirring down there, and the guilds are shitting themselves."

"And the second?"

Corso’s eyes flickered.

"There’s a man asking questions. Tall, black hair, carries a sword that could split a horse in half. Calls himself an avenger. Says he’s looking for a wanderer named Kai."

’Fuck. He’s already here. Or close.’

Kai kept his face neutral.

"What else?"

"He’s been leaving a trail of broken bodies. Information brokers who didn’t talk fast enough. Thugs who got in his way. The man doesn’t negotiate, friend."

"Word is, he’s heading this way. If you’re the Kai he’s looking for, I’d suggest you leave Thornwatch before he arrives."

’Like hell I would. There is something I need from this place.’

The inn was called The Rusty Nail, a three-story building wedged between a tannery and a brothel. The rooms were cheap, the walls were thin, and the bed had definitely seen better centuries.

Kai sat on the edge of the mattress, his head in his hands.

’He’s coming. Meriel is coming. And I still don’t know how to beat him. In the original game, he had plot armor. The system loved him. Every woman he met wanted to fuck him. Every sword he swung found its mark. How do you kill a man the universe wants to win?’

Eliza closed the door behind her. Sera leaned against the wall, her bow within reach.

"You need to rest," Eliza said.

"I can’t."

"Kai—"

"I said I can’t." His voice cracked.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see Vesper’s face. I see the loop. I see myself dying over and over again. And now some fucker’s coming after me. The man who’s going to kill everyone I care about if I don’t stop him."

Meriel was a ruthless protagonist for this game.

’I’m spiraling. I know I’m spiraling. But I can’t stop.’

Sera pushed off the wall and knelt in front of him, her hands resting on his knees.

"Then don’t rest," she said, her voice low.

Eliza’s breath caught. She stepped closer, her ice-blue eyes softening. "Kai... we’re here. We’re not going anywhere."

Kai looked at them: Eliza, the noble who had followed him through hell without question.

Sera, the merchant’s daughter who had chosen danger over safety. They were both looking at him with something he didn’t deserve.

’Fuck it. I’m going to be selfish. Just this once.’

He grabbed Sera by the waist and pulled her onto the bed. She landed with a soft gasp, her legs spreading as he crawled over her.

Eliza climbed onto the mattress behind him, her hands sliding under his shirt.

"Tell me what you need," Eliza whispered against his ear.

"I need to claim you both," Kai said, his voice rough.

"I need to feel like something in this fucking world is mine."

Sera reached down and unbuckled his pants. His cock sprang free, already hard, already aching.

She wrapped her hand around it, stroking slowly.

"Then claim us."

Kai didn’t wait.

He pushed Sera’s legs apart, lined himself up, and thrust inside her in one brutal motion.

She cried out, her back arching.

"Fuck... Kai...."

He didn’t give her time to adjust.

Each thrust was a declaration.

’Mine. She’s mine. They’re both mine. I won’t lose them. I won’t.’

Eliza pressed against his back, her hands roaming his chest. Her lips found his neck, sucking and biting.

"Don’t hold back," she breathed. "Let go."

Kai reached back and grabbed Eliza’s hair, pulling her around.

He kissed her roughly, his tongue invading her mouth while his hips kept pounding into Sera.

Sera’s legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him deeper. "Yes, fuck, right there, don’t stop."

He fucked her until she came, her pussy clenching around him, her moans filling the cheap room.

But he didn’t pull out. He kept thrusting, riding her orgasm, pushing her into oversensitivity.

"Kai... I can’t...."

"Yes, you can." He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear. "You’re mine. You can take it."

He pulled out of Sera and flipped her onto her stomach, lifted her ass, and slammed back inside her from behind.

The angle was deeper, harder. Her moans turned into wordless cries.

Eliza moved in front of him, positioning herself over Sera’s face.

"Lick her," Kai commanded.

"Make her cum again."

Sera didn’t hesitate. Her tongue found Eliza’s pussy, lapping and sucking.

Eliza’s head fell back, her fingers tangling in Sera’s hair.

He fucked Sera harder, faster, chasing his release, his balls slapped against her wet pussy, the sound obscene and perfect.

"I’m going to cum inside you," he growled.

"Fill this greedy cunt until it leaks."

"Yes...please..."

He buried himself to the hilt and came. Sera screamed into Eliza’s pussy, her own orgasm triggered by the feeling of being filled.

Kai pulled out, still hard. He grabbed Eliza and bent her over the bed, shoving his cock into her wetness without warning.

"Your turn."

He fucked her with the same desperate intensity, his hands gripping her hips hard enough to bruise.

"You’re mine too. Both of you. I’m not losing anyone else."

He came inside her too, pumping his cum deep into her pussy.

Eliza shuddered through her orgasm, her walls milking him dry.

Kai collapsed onto the bed, his body spent, his mind still racing.

Sera curled against his left side, her head on his chest. Eliza pressed against his right, her hand resting on his stomach.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then Sera whispered, "That was... intense."

Kai let out a hollow laugh. "Yeah."

Eliza kissed his shoulder. "Try to sleep."

"I can’t."

"Then at least close your eyes."

He closed his eyes.

But sleep didn’t come.

He lay there, staring at the cracked ceiling, listening to their breathing even out.

Sera’s hand was still resting on his chest. Eliza’s fingers were still intertwined with his.

Meriel is coming. And when he gets here, I’m going to have to fight him. I’m going to have to kill him, or die trying.