"I hope you are ready for our bath together?" Nyx purred.

"Definitely," Zen whispered. His voice sounded surprisingly hoarse.

Without a second thought, Zen unzipped his ash-covered jacket and let it drop to the floor. He pulled his ruined shirt over his head, tossed it into a corner, and quickly stepped out of his pants and boots.

Within moments, he stood completely naked before her, already half-hard from the sight of her.

Nyx’s glowing purple eyes slowly dragged up and down his body, drinking every inch of him with obvious hunger. She gently licked her lower lip.

"You have new scars on your ribs," she murmured softly. "From the spider cave."

"They will heal quickly," Zen replied. He took a slow step forward. "Shall we?"

Nyx didn’t reply; she just turned around and slowly walked across the bedroom, giving him a perfect view of her swaying hips.

Zen followed her, his eyes glued to the mesmerizing movement of her full ass and the faint purple lines glowing across her bare skin.

She led him through frosted glass doors into a massive, hyper-modern bathroom. It was breathtaking. The walls were made of sleek, dark marble. A massive, circular soaking tub sat in the center of the room, directly beneath a luxurious rainfall showerhead.

Nyx tapped a glowing digital panel on the wall, and the tub instantly began to fill with steaming, crystal-clear water.

"The water smells amazing," Zen said, stepping into the warm, humid room. "What exactly is in it?"

"It is a special blend of low-tier healing herbs and pure mana salts," Nyx explained. She reached out and placed her soft hand flat against his bare chest. "It will pull the soreness right out of your muscles. And it will wash away the terrible stench of the dungeon."

"That is good," Zen said with a small smile. "Because I feel like I just got hit by a cargo truck."

Nyx chuckled. "Come here, Zen."

She stepped backwards, her bare feet slipping effortlessly into the modern soaking tub. The warm water quickly rose up to her waist, hiding her lower half but leaving her full, heavy breasts completely exposed above the sparkling surface.

Zen stepped into the pool right after her.

The intense heat of the water hit his tired legs first, sending a wave of relief straight deep into his bones. He let out a loud, satisfying groan.

"Does it feel good?" Nyx asked, wading closer to him. The water rippled softly around her curves.

"It feels incredible," Zen sighed, sinking lower until the water reached his chest. "But it is definitely not as incredible as you look right now."

Nyx chuckled softly. "Flattery," she teased, though a dark, obsessive gleam flashed brightly in her eyes. "Are you just saying that so I won’t be angry about you risking your life today?"

"I am saying it because it is the complete truth," Zen said honestly. He looked directly at the glowing, neon-purple pathways tracing perfectly across her pale skin. "You are beautiful, Nyx."

Nyx’s breath hitched slightly in her throat. "You are looking at me exactly like you used to look at me."

"How is that?" Zen asked, his voice dropping lower.

"Like you want to totally consume me," Nyx whispered. She stopped just inches away from him. Her bare legs brushed gently against his under the warm water. "Like I am the only thing in the entire world."

"Right now," Zen said, reaching his hands under the water to firmly grip her soft ass cheeks, "you are the only thing in the room."

Nyx let out a soft gasp as his warm hands squeezed her wet skin. She reached into a small alcove built into the side of the stone pool and pulled out a soft bathing sponge.

"Turn around," Nyx commanded softly. "Let me wash your back first."

Zen obeyed her without arguing. He turned his back to her, letting the hot water cover his chest.

Nyx pressed her wet, naked front directly against his back. He could feel the soft crush of her heavy breasts moulding against his shoulder blades, her stiff nipples dragging across his skin.

Her hands began to scrub the sponge gently across his shoulders and back, wiping away the black ash and dried monster blood.

"Your core feels different," Nyx noted calmly. Her fingers traced lightly down his spine. "It is thicker. Heavier."

"I absorbed the monster cores," Zen admitted. "Both the small ones and the big boss core."

"That was very reckless," Nyx scolded him gently, though her hands never stopped caressing him. "You could have torn your mana pathways again. You should have waited for me to help you."

"You don’t have to worry too much about me, Nyx," Zen replied. He tilted his head backward, resting it softly against her wet shoulder. "I’m not exactly powerless that I can’t do things myself."

"Why the rush though?" Nyx asked, her sponge moving lower down his back.

"Because I need to be stronger," Zen said seriously. "There’s a lot to be done, and I need to be even stronger than before. I don’t want to hide behind you, Nyx. I want to stand beside you."

Nyx stopped washing him.

She dropped the sponge into the water, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck from behind, pressing her face into his wet hair.

"Valeria wanted to lock you away in her little Vanguard estate," Nyx whispered dangerously. "She wanted to put you in a tiny cage so she could keep you all to herself forever.

"I don’t want to hide you from the world, Zen. I want you to rule with me. But you have to learn to rely on me."

Zen turned around in the water, breaking her tight hold. He faced her again. The water sloshed loudly around them.

"I do rely on you," Zen said. He reached out and gently traced a single finger along one of the glowing purple lines on her collarbone.

Nyx let out a sharp, sudden moan. Her purple eyes fluttered closed.

"These lines," Zen observed quietly. "They pulse much faster when I touch them."

"They are very sensitive," Nyx breathed out heavily. She leaned forward into his touch. "They are advanced magi-tech pathways. They connect my artificial enhancements directly to my mana core. Every single time you touch one, the feeling shoots straight into my soul."

"What happens if I do this?" Zen asked softly.