The secret passage Kira had found spiraled down, a natural tunnel polished by centuries of use, until it finally opened into a huge chamber.
Gandloaf’s forge.
Haru stopped at the entrance, her breath catching for a second.
It was impressive even in death.
The chamber had been carved directly into the living rock of the mountain, circular walls rising about fifteen ters to a vaulted ceiling covered in runes that glowed faintly even without an active fla.
Dwarve runes, an ancient language engraved deep within, forming the symbol of the Fla Path repeated in concentric patterns: a circle with a stylized fla in the center, lines radiating like rays of sunlight.
In the exact center of the chamber was the forge, a massive structure of black stone and tal that seed to have grown from the ground, an anvil the size of a table, a furnace large enough to fit a person inside. But it was completely dead.
Only cold ashes scattered around, the sll of rusted iron and abandoned ti. Dark stains that could be dried blood. Tools scattered.
Haru didn’t linger too long in contemplation of the place... without delay he went to look for the Fragnt of a Blacksmith’s Ember, where Gandloaf had told him he’d left it.
It was in a sealed, cylindrical tal container. Upon opening it, Haru found the fragnt. A very faint orange glow pulsed inside, so faint it was barely visible.
```
[Fragnt of a Blacksmith’s Ember. Detected]
◊ Compatible vessel detected in inventory
```
Haru picked up the fragnt; it was slightly warm. He looked around and saw what Gandloaf had called a "torch," a tal structure protruding from the wall near the furnace, shaped like an outstretched arm holding a shallow bowl of black stone.
"Break the crystal there?" He murmured, suddenly rembering that before they left, Gandloaf had approached him, placed his hand on Haru’s shoulder, and whispered sothing so low he almost didn’t hear it:
"If you reach the forge... break the crystal on the torch and say: Arathôr vel’kamin."
A specific na. Words Haru didn’t understand but that sounded ancient, ritualistic.
"Kira, step back a little."
He went to the torch, raised the crystal with his right hand, and broke it against the stone bowl.
The crystal exploded in light, not physical fragnts, but pure energy that spread through the bowl and rose like fire.
Haru took a deep breath and spoke the words Gandloaf had given:
"Arathôr vel’kamin."
Absolute silence for three seconds. And then the furnace itself caught fire.
Flas erupted from within, not normal fire, but golden flas mixed with blue, Gandloaf’s Fla Path awakening after a long ti of being extinguished.
Heat filled the chamber instantly, runes on the walls glowing intensely, and for a mont Haru felt a connection to sothing ancient, to generations of Dwarve blacksmiths.
The flas stabilized, burning steadily in the furnace, alive again.
```
[Path Fla: ACTIVATED]
◊ Forge: REKINDLED
```
"Each Dwarf has a specific na to activate..." Haru realized. "This is... the key. The password. Without it, the forge won’t light."
Kira gazed in wonder at the golden flas. "We did it, master... the forge is alive."
...
They exited the forge through the passage leading to the mountaintop, cold air hitting their faces after the intense heat inside.
The view was breathtaking; they could see the village below, small like a model, forests stretching in every direction, other mountains in the distance, so almost covered in snow.
And then Kira stopped, her body stiffening. "A sll... of death."
They followed the scent to a rocky area fifty ters ahead.
The body was there.
A giant creature, three ters tall even when fallen, a sowhat humanoid but deford body, grayish skin with black veins pulsing even in death, hands too large with claws.
The wounds were too precise. It hadn’t been a chaotic fight. Clean cuts separating limbs, precise punctures in vital points. Whoever had done this knew exactly what they were doing.
Kira sniffed the body, then the air around it. "Sll... familiar but I can’t identify it."
Haru examined the ashes of the body and froze. A symbol engraved on the stone with sothing warm: a circle with three intertwined lines.
Custodians.
"They were already here..." he murmured. "They killed him before we arrived."
Continuing along the top they found a hot spring, a natural pool about five ters in diater, water steaming in the cold of the altitude, surrounded by smooth stones covered in moss.
Both were battered, sowhat covered in cave dust, dried blood, molten crystal clinging to their skin and clothes. Stinking.
Kira looked at the hot water and then at Haru. "Master... when was the last ti you took a bath?"
"...I don’t rember."
"We can go together. I’ll stay on one side, you on the other." She said naturally, without malice, just being practical.
Haru feigned hesitation. "Is that... a good idea?"
"Master, are you afraid of water?" a clear provocation.
"...Okay."
They entered separately, Kira first, with her back to Haru, then keeping a safe distance on the other side of the pool. Steam concealed it well, the murky water helped.
Initial silence while they washed.
Kira spoke after a while. "The Custodians... what did they do to you? I didn’t hear properly, I was feeling all nauseous..."
Haru recounted a summarized version: the tests, the sensory deprivation, the crystal of truth, how he had escaped by being identified as Valtherion.
"They hunt people like ," he said, looking at the steam. "And they’re good at it."
Kira remained quiet, processing.
The steam slowly subsided as the water cooled slightly, improving visibility within the small thermal pool.
Kira, still in the water, turned without thinking, pure animal instinct. There was no sha or human embarrassnt in the movent. She simply turned her body.
And Haru saw everything.
For a full second, Kira’s naked, wet body was completely exposed to the faint moonlight.
Her skin glistened, covered by a thin layer of water that slowly trickled down her firm, dium-sized breasts. Her pink nipples were hardened by the temperature contrast, small and perfect, with drops hanging from them like tiny pearls.
Her slender waist descended to her wide, inviting hips, highlighting the smooth, pert curve of her round buttocks. Between her thick, shapely thighs, her intimacy, due to the water, was almost visible.
Her wet tail swayed slowly behind her, dripping, while her fox ears trembled slightly in the cooler air.
Haru felt the air escape his lungs.
His penis reacted imdiately, hardening painfully within the water. The vision was short, but brutally clear: her pert breasts, the curve of her belly, her wet and inviting intimacy, the glint of water running down her soft skin.
He turned his head violently to the other side, his heart pounding.
"K-Kira!" he exclaid hoarsely, his voice coming out deeper than he intended.
"What’s wrong?" Kira tilted her head, ears perked up, looking down at her own naked body and then at him, genuinely confused. "Ah... humans are weird with naked bodies, right? We demi-humans don’t care about that."
"I DO CARE!" Haru almost shouted, still turned around, trying to control his breathing and his throbbing erection.
Inside, however, he was on fire.
"Damn... what a sight... those perfect, wet breasts, hard nipples... and I almost saw that pink, swollen little pussy... if I had turned around a second later..."
He bit his lower lip hard, feigning respect as his cock throbbed painfully.
Kira blinked, still not understanding the problem, her tail swaying slowly in the water.
"But... it’s just skin and flesh. Master has seen worse in battle. Why are you so nervous now?"
Haru swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Because... you’re different. And I’m a man. And you’re... very naked."
Kira tilted her head again, an innocent little smile appearing on her lips.
"Master likes what he saw?"
Haru almost choked.
Before he could answer, a loud noise of falling stone echoed off the mountain above them.
They both quickly stood up from the water. Haru turned instinctively, while Kira slowly exited the pool, her naked body still glistening with droplets. They grabbed their clothes hurriedly, dressing with clumsy movents.
"Let’s go," Haru said, his voice still hoarse. "We’ve done what we ca here to do. I don’t want any more adventures today." Kira nodded, but her eyes still held a curious glint as she looked at him.
"Yes, Master."
As he put on his wet shirt, Haru thought, with a mischievous inner smile:
"I saw it... and now I won’t be able to forget it anyti soon."
On the way back, a sowhat awkward silence.
Kira acted completely normal, not understanding why Haru was so pensive.
Haru internally processed mories of the narrow passage, the bath, the absolute loyalty she had sworn.
"This is getting complicated... if it continues like this I’ll lose my virginity to just one girl... and then I’ll be ruining my harem... I need to control myself and find more waifus for myself... hehehe I feel like jerking off..."
```
[Affinity Update: Kira]
[Trust: 87% → 100%]
[Loyalty: Absolute]
```
"I OFFICIALLY GOT A BEASTSKIN FOR THE HAREM." He murmured softly.
Kira looked at him. "Did Master say sothing?"
"Nothing. Let’s go downstairs."
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