Legacy of a Benevolent Lord

The courtyard lay hushed under a silver veil of moonlight, its stillness broken only by the faint rustle of leaves stirred by a restless breeze.

Riven stood at its center, his silhouette sharp against the glow of flickering lanterns, their flames dancing like nervous whispers.

Selene lounged against a stone pillar, her white silks catching the light, while Azira fidgeted nearby, her wide eyes darting between the three glowing cocoons nestled in the courtyard's corners.

Suyin, Liam, and Zen rested within, their forms shrouded in translucent white shells, pulsing softly like heartbeats of divine promise.

No crowd gathered here; the night belonged to Riven, Selene, and Azira alone, witnesses to a transformation that few could claim to have seen.

A faint crack split the silence, sharp as a snapped twig. Riven's head tilted, his gaze locking onto Suyin's cocoon. Thin fractures spiderwebbed across its surface, each seam leaking light like dawn piercing fogged glass.

The air seemed to hold its breath, heavy with anticipation, as if the courtyard itself leaned closer to watch.

Another crack, slower this time, deliberate, like the earth exhaling a secret.

Riven's eyes narrowed, a flicker of focus sharpening his features. With a subtle flick of his wrist, a ripple of spiritual energy flowed from his fingertips, gentle as a sigh.

Suyin's cocoon lifted, hovering a foot above the ground, its glow casting soft shadows across the cobblestones.

He turned his attention to the other two cocoons, Liam's and Zen's, their surfaces still intact but humming with latent power.

Another wave of energy, precise and controlled, nudged them apart, sliding them across the courtyard to opposite corners, dozens of paces away.

The separation ensured their breakthroughs wouldn't clash; each transformation granted its own sacred space.

All eyes returned to Suyin's cocoon.

The fractures deepened, glowing seams pulsing like veins of starlight.

The air thrummed with a low, resonant hum, as if the heavens themselves were tuning an unseen instrument.

Then, with a sound like silk tearing softly, the cocoon split.

There was no BOOM or sudden rush of wind that pushed aside trees, only a soft blossoming, reminiscent of a holy flower gradually revealing itself under the night sky.

The shell parted into three curved shards of translucent light, drifting to the ground like feathers and dissolving into motes of shimmering dust.

The courtyard fell silent, the moment suspended in a hush of awe.

Suyin stood barefoot at the center, a vision carved from light.

Her skin gleamed, flawless and smooth, as if sculpted from porcelain kissed by divine mist. Not a speck of ash, dirt, or blood marred her form.

This was the innate form of man. Untouched by mortality... well, to the most part.

The cocoon had worked its magic, devouring the black blood, the old marrow, the weight of decay and age, refining it all within its embrace.

What remained was utmost purity!

A vessel reborn, ascendant, Innate.

And then, the painfully obvious problem.

Her clothes, already frayed from the heat and power of her transformation, had not survived. They were gone, leaving her entirely, gloriously naked, her form glowing softly under the moon's caress.

Suyin blinked, her breath catching as she glanced down.

For a moment, her mind went blank, as if trying to hide her own thoughts from shame, and her mind started to spin in a different direction....

That belly scar she got from a swordsman a decade ago is gone.

Her mature tummy rolls were gone.

The scars from the inside of her thighs were gone.

Everything was just.... too pristine.

It didn't take long for her to break out of her reverie and lift her head to see Riveron, her master, looking at her like he was looking at some artwork in an art gallery.

With a thoughtful look, the man was scanning her up and down with one hand on his chin.

She might have misheard, but she heard, "Mm... no hair. Well, full bald is good too."

Her voice, usually steady as steel, came out in a mortified whisper. "Oh… no!"

Selene, ever the quick one, sprang into action with the urgency of a cat dodging a splash of water.

Her white silks billowed as she darted forward, one hand shooting out to cover Azira's wide, innocent eyes, and other was dead set trying to cover Riven's eyes...

"Don't look, little sister," she said, her voice laced with amusement, like she was barely holding back a laugh. "Some sights are too much for your pure heart."

But Riven-damn him-was faster.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone, a blur of motion that left the air shimmering in his wake.

When Selene's silk reached the spot where he'd stood, it met only empty space. A heartbeat later, he reappeared beside Suyin, his smirk practically glowing with mischief.

He didn't say a word, just tilted his head, his eyes twinkling with that infuriating spark that screamed, I saw it all, and you can't stop me.

Selene's gaze narrowed to slits, promising retribution. Riven's smirk only widened, as if daring her to try.

He turned to Suyin, whose face had turned the color of a ripened pomegranate, her arms clutching at nothing in a futile attempt to shield herself.

"Mmmm… beautiful," he said, his voice low and teasing, sending westward a visible tremor through her.

Without breaking eye contact, he shrugged off his outer robe, the dark fabric embroidered with golden threads catching the moonlight like a river of stars.

He stepped forward, unhurried, his movements deliberate, exuding the confidence of a man who owned every inch of the moment.

The robe fell over Suyin's shoulders like a curtain of mercy, its hem brushing past her knees, the sleeves swallowing her arms. She clutched it tightly, the fabric a fragile shield against her burning embarrassment.

Suyin, now an Innate ascendant, bore no trace of the grime or fatigue of battle.

Her skin shimmered with a soft luster, her hair cascading in silky waves that caught the moonlight like liquid silver.

The air around her seemed to hum, as if the night itself acknowledged her transformation. She was a heaven-crafted vessel, reborn in radiance.

Riven stepped back, his gaze steady, not leering lustfully but not pretending not to look either.

He looked at her with quiet amusement, like a man who'd just won a bet with the universe.

Suyin still couldn't meet his eyes, her face half-buried in the robe's collar, her ears practically glowing red.

This was the woman who could bellow orders across a training ground without flinching, who'd faced death with a steady hand. Yet here she was, undone by her own nakedness.

Then, in a blur of newfound speed she hadn't yet mastered, she bolted.

No "Excuse me, your highness," no formal farewell... just a streak of motion that kicked up grass and dust, vanishing through the back gate in less than two seconds.

Riven stood there, basking in the aftermath, his lips curled in a grin that said he was far too pleased with himself.

That's when Selene's fist found his ribs.

A clean, firm hook, not hard enough to break anything, but sharp enough to make a point. "Ow," Riven muttered, doubling over slightly, his hand clutching his side with exaggerated drama.

Selene stood with her arms crossed, lips pursed like a schoolteacher catching a student stealing sweets. "What the heck was that, Riveron Ashvale?"

He straightened, one eye squinting, still grinning like a fox. "Why'd you hit me, love? I was being chivalrous. She was naked. I gave her my robe."

Selene's expression flattened, unimpressed. "You were flirting with your guard."

"Flirting?" Riven gasped, pressing a hand to his chest as if wounded. "Me? I was simply… efficient."

"You vanished faster than a thief in a marketplace the second I moved," Selene shot back, her tone dry as desert sand.

"I'm a cultivator," he said, his voice dripping with mock-seriousness. "I react to danger instinctively. Naked guards are a crisis."

Selene stared, her eyes narrowing further, but a tiny smile betrayed her. "Tsk… bad man."

"Bomboclaat, Mi a di bad man," he replied, with a hilarious Jamaican accent, winking with enough charm to melt a glacier.

She rolled her eyes. What accent he was trying to emulate, Selene doesn't know, but she knew not to ask. He's never going to give a straight answer anyway.

The gesture is practically audible. "We'll see if you're sleeping in your room tonight, you rogue."

"Which one?" he asked, his voice pure mischief, leaning closer as if daring her to answer.

Selene huffed, turning on her heel and striding toward the courtyard's center, where Liam's and Zen's cocoons still pulsed faintly, their glows dimming like fading stars.

Under her breath, she muttered, "Hmph. Can't kick him out. Who knows which woman he'll charm next?" Azira trailed behind, her face a mix of confusion and quiet giggles, clearly out of her depth.

Riven lingered a moment, his grin softening as he watched Selene's retreating figure, then followed, his steps hopped comically despite the chaos of the night.

The courtyard seemed to exhale, the tension easing, but the air still thrummed with the promise of more to come.

A soft crack echoed from Liam's cocoon, followed by another from Zen's, like the first notes of a duet.