The Words of the Enemy

Cornelius Stolt was not a cruel man.

The mana-draining was largely painless; aside from a spot of disorientation, it was indeed a humane but effective way to neutralize any mage that utilized those energies for their magic. Moira believed him on that... but her demand stood, and so, wordlessly, he left the security keycard on the tray along with the devices of "interrogation" and calmly walked out of the cell.

"Cornelius," Moira suddenly added without turning away from John, "tell my father, and all others, to not open those doors for any reason... and tell them that if they do, even if it is my father who attempts to enter this chamber before I am done... tell them that John will leave this place absolved of all sins."

The Sage blinked at Moira's back... and couldn't suppress a dry, humorless chuckle. A stern glance from her drew them into words. "I-I mean... I shall repeat your words loyally, my Warden... but... I am powerless to make them true."

Moira narrowed her eyes. "The Lady will make them true. Now lock the door."

She returned to looking John over. Her aura remained empowering, her halo continued to shine... and she remained statuesque in her radiant glory as the Sage watched the doors slowly close on her and what might be one of the most dangerous prisoners the Brightons now kept. "Pray... protect your daughter, Lady of the Lake," Cornelius whispered as he watched the bolts slide into place, "for we are ever loyal, and ever humble, before the duties of our station."

Inside, Moira heard the bolts click... and nearly fell upon John. Her face buried itself in his chest as she sighed, her bare hands caressed his ribs, his hips, and then slid up to his face as she scooped it up. She moaned her words, "Awaken from the Lady's rest." The prayer rested on her lips, and she pressed it into his with a soft noise from her throat.

John's only bared eye fluttered to open... and what began as a returned kiss turned into a panicked yell of shock. "M-Moira?! Lord- wa- what am I- where am I?!" John's body spasmed as he flexed against the restraints; they held against far worse than his bare might, and he blinked as he tried to get his bearing through the daze of his current state.

"John," Moira almost cried into his mouth after he curled his lips back, "I'm sorry... Lady help me, I'm sorry..."

John blinked back at Moira... and her **** breaths, and the tears welling in her eyes, and the flush of her cheeks. Her hands continued to drift up and down his body, pianoing the loops of steel that he could feel but not see. He opened his left eye, but found only the darkness of whatever plate or helmet was resting on what felt like at least a quarter of his head. That same contraption affixed his head to the back of whatever instrument he was tied to; he couldn't so much as inch his chin in any direction, and he was positioned so upright that he couldn't look down on himself or anything else save his outstretched arm at the peripheral of the only eye he was allowed to use. Moira temporarily left his field of view as she went to his left. The soft, mysterious clinks of metal worried John almost as much as the stream of messages from his UI.

Gi45G's Bod9 re52ttin34.6

Gamer's Spirit recovered!
Gamer's Body reset! All Gamer systems reset to normal.

You are currently suffering:
Mana drain (unnamed mana-draining devices) x39
Partial stasis (Vow Keeper)

Achievement unlocked! "No Easy Way Out"!
You narrowly escaped paying your debt to a Warlock curse! Of course, that just means the debt remains owed...
+5,000XP
+1 stat point

Achievement unlocked! "Suffocation, No Breathing"!
Your lung was destroyed by an attack! But Gaia was generous enough to bless you with a spare.
+5 END
+1,000XP

Achievement unlocked! "Determination That is Incorruptible"!
You suffered over 1,000 damage in a single attack and didn't pass out or die! At least not immediately...
+4 END
+5,000XP

New Gamer Quest! "Breathe"!
Raise your maximum HP to 2,500 or greater!
Rewards: Gamer's Body limit will be raised to 2,500HP; 40,000XP

Achievement unlocked! "Alone I Break"!
You were defeated while soloing for the first time. Maybe bring a party next time?
+100XP
+$100

Achievement unlocked! "My Own Prison"!
You were taken prisoner. Not really much of an achievement though, is it..?
+100XP
+$100

Achievement unlocked! "Against All Odds"!
You survived direct combat with someone more than twice your level while soloing! But did you win?
+2,000XP
+1 stat point

HP: 1,959/1,959
MP: -1/1,937

John blinked at the stream of messages and, by looking as far to his right as he could, directed the interface near his restrained hand. Cumbersome as it was, he slowly dismissed the notices with single, straining taps of his fingers as he worked. A soft pressure moved around his crotch, making John suddenly aware of where exactly that "stasis" was taking effect as he felt the sudden telltale absence of blood rushing to his cock... until, with a soft "click," the pop-up's report was confirmed. Suddenly his genitals existed, now pressed uncomfortably against a metal cup until, still out of sight, a kneeling Moira extracted the device and tossed it out of sight. John thought to say something, anything to try and get his bearings; the memory of their fight, the hatred for her father, the agony of dying... it was garbled in his head, but none of them were indistinct enough to fade the memory of what had come to pass. How long was he out this time? Where was he now? For a moment, John thought Moira was helping him escape... wherever this was, and remained silent for fear of giving away her work.

His half-hard cock grew completely erect as he felt a certain heroine's face pressed against it. A long, deep snort painted the picture of what he couldn't look down and see: Moira, now unobserved by her father or anyone else in this tiny room, rubbing John's meat against her cheek, lips and nose in some **** sign of affection. "Oh, John," Moira whispered more to his dick than the attached husband, "I... using this... power always left me wanting, and I thought I had a better control... but now, fully awakened, it’s so much... oh Lady help me, it's so, so much...!" The Warden's blessed tongue slowly traveled from the front of John's scrotum, up to his shaft, and slowly, achingly up his shaft as she sighed happily on his meat. John could imagine few times this would be less appreciated than now... but it remained appreciated as he suppressed a groan right up until her mouth kissed the flared head of his manhood. "It was so hard... to stay... restrained..." Moira looked up to her bound husband. "Ah... sorry..."

"Moira," he whispered, "get me out of here first, and I promise we can spend all the time in the world-"

"I can't," she hissed back, sinking his hope for a rescue at the end of this sudden blowjob, "I have to... I have to convince you to surrender, to let us help you."

John sighed as her fingers wrapped around his meat. Everything feels just a bit hazy... "I... I can't disagree with these methods-" John tried to focus on what he knew of the Order... and through his haze of lust, he realized why it was so hard to focus on just that.

Gamer's Drive set to 25%.

Christ, I was running at full...! He remained hard as Moira continued to **** him, but now he could keep her, the Order, and everything of that last hour in context: the Order was rotten, perhaps recently, or perhaps it always had been. The history didn't concern John; what concerned him was what the Order continuing would mean for people like Layla, Galley, the innocent victims of other mages... and now, himself. "Moira... you can't save the Order... not while your father..." ... lives. "... commands it."

Moira looked up to her husband, as she took more of him into her mouth. If she was listening, he didn't feel it at the back of her tongue.

John tried to get anything out of the Eye of the King, but the darkness of the helm pressed against his head appeared non-magical. He switched it to barrier view, and the feedback thankfully popped up in front of his regular eye.

Reality Buffer, Level 72
Creator: The Grasping Eye, crafted and christened by Magoi Magus
Population: Hidden
[English-speaking customer detected] Behold! Standing opposed to the nefarious illusion barriers of common hedge mages, the Reality Buffer is the latest and greatest invention yet from the mighty Magoi Magus! Come! Behold! Like oil and water, “hard” reality parts space and time, perfecting the vision of Gaia and divorcing its purified essences from the malleable indignities of the real world! This buffered reality becomes resistant to all attempts to violate it, and by its purity creates a tangible, impenetrable, yet invisible wall through which nothing can break in or out. Purchase yours today for the low, low price of 5,000 thalers! - Magoi Magus

Then I'm still in it... but what if it's not as effective? Right, something small, something I won't drop before putting it back... one of Juniluny's pearls, then. John looked to his outstretched fingers and concentrated.

You tried to call the **** pearl from your inventory, but spacetime resisted! Inventory access failed.

"Moira... please, free me," John whispered.

She took him deeper into her throat in response. Even as she gagged, she kept it up; the gathering moisture in her throat coated him thoroughly before she finally released him from her mouth. His dick throbbed, eager for more.

"At least... turn off whatever's preventing my portals... look, just... just for me, just for a bit?"

Moira reached into her brooch and, without expanding it, pulled out the key to her own Vow Keeper. "You'll leave a fugitive... and then I'd need to hope father didn't try to kill you out of sight, or have someone else do it, or hire reckless mages that he knows would fail to bring you alive... I can't afford any of that, John... I can't afford to lose you." Click. Her panties fell with gravity and, by their metallic weight, with the speed by which Moira wished to dispossess herself of them. With a single-handed flip of her skirt, her simple summer dress fell away, leaving only a strapless bra that was disengaged just as quickly. She stood suddenly, beautiful and radiant with her bared breasts and perfect flesh... and a halo formed around her head, a halo meant for war, that sharpened her senses and reaction time... and John watched as the holy warrior he had toyed with now toyed with him. Quietly, she walked forward... and John's cock ached as he felt it pressed against her clitoris until it was neatly hugged by her labia. She shuddered with him, and her thighs squeezed his massive rod so he lined her entire crotch, with his head just barely poking out from the back of the space between her thighs.

She inched forward, and he felt her powerful legs as firm as if he were gripping his own meat with an angry fist. He surged against his restraints, but neither hate nor love could break them. "M-Moira," he sighed, "let's... let's do it. Just... put me in, for a bit..."

Moira kissed him in response. Her halo pulsed. She felt every vein of his turgid tool, felt the blood flowing underneath its skin, felt the nerves of her lips take on the same fire as the lips between her legs as she pressed them against his, and even felt his arousal seep into her. The Lady had granted her a new insight into humanity, into being human, into the secrets of flesh... and she lapped them up, in mind and with the tip of her tongue across and between John's lips, as they drove her rapidly to climax. "This," she whispered hotly into his mouth, "this is... as deep... as I can let you go..."

"Then... stop this," John sighed, "I... I'm not going to give in, and... this is just-"

Moira snapped a kiss at John's mouth before whispering, "I can't... stop. Just... help me with this, please... you married me. That means... you love me, right? At least... enough for this?" She continued to thrust her hips against John's, fucking her own thighs with his length, letting her sopping sex drench his. No matter John's control, the sensation was quite pleasant; the blasphemy of her holy light as she rutted on him only made it more perverse, and for tender, painfully erect minutes, she continued like this. Droplets fell liberally on the stones beneath his bound feet. The stink of their act was quickly filling the room. His precum stained the bottoms of her buttcheeks, and the feeling of her erect nipples against his chest made John accept that, no matter his thoughts on the matter, she would **** him to climax.

In a final, **** act, John thought he might be more convincing... if only he increased her thirst to feel his meat inside her. If I can get the blessing off of her... and change the damn score...! John looked to his perfect health and his mana pool that hovered ever between -1 and 0. All or nothing...!

You used Equilibrium, losing 950HP! You regained 2,375 mana, restoring your mana to full!

Unnamed mana draining device drains 100MP!
Unnamed mana draining device drains 100MP!
Unnamed mana draining device drains 100MP!
Unnamed mana draining device drains 100MP! ...

The pop-ups poured as his mana counter remained unmoved... and aside from a soft squeal from the machine apparently suckling at his power, the only sign that John had attempted anything at all was in how he felt: the haze had lifted for the smallest fragment of perceivable time only to return like a resurging headache. The mana drain... it's making it hard to think as fast as... I like- fuck, but this feels good... damn it, Moira, stop...!

"You're almost there... so am I... it's like... we're making love..." Moira softly cried. Her thrusts picked up speed while her legs crushed him, building them both up as they rapidly approached the end.

John groaned as the pressure built at the base of his spine, no matter his wish on the matter... and no matter his efforts to maneuver in the bindings, he stayed put as his cock blasted its seed uselessly behind the Warden. Moira felt the first, generous blast of seed pass through and inflate John's meat against her pussy and, with a groan to match John's, shuddered and came as well. When at last the throbbing had ceased, and John's seed had made an intimidatingly sizable puddle on the floor behind Moira, she lowered his meat and carefully repositioned herself.

"Moira..." John didn't bother finishing his request; she was nearly oblivious as she stroked his shaft to keep him hard. Sure enough, his augmented drive was happy to oblige: he remained rigid while still dripping more of his seed and her lubricant. With a single-handed pass from her cooch to crack, Moira gave her anus the tenderest helping of her own lubricant before pressing John's wet head against it. "For fuck's sake..."

"Just let me... have this..." Moira chided, her halo continuing to flare. He crowned past her first sphincter, and her legs nearly gave out as the sensation ran through her. "We... we're not meant to... join, John... but I want to."

"What...?" He stifled his groan as he felt her further impale herself on his enlarged tool and, with that well-oiled piston, began to drive her round ass against him, bouncing as she struggled to lean back against his virtually crucified pose. A bit of drool escaped the corner of her mouth as she let it hang open, leaving her hot breaths on John's right ear as she moaned against him. Fuck, but she's... good at this... John, focus... you gotta... fuck...

She slammed herself onto him suddenly, rooting herself onto his crotch as she viciously rubbed her clit, moaning her next orgasm into his face like a taunt. "John... fuck... yes, John... Lady help me, I can't let them kill you! I can't let you... go! Please... we could be happy..." She kissed him on the small of his neck as she continued to twist awkwardly against him. "There's... so much we could accomplish."

"Moira... let me fuck you properly," John whispered, his heart growing colder as he heard her. "Just think about how good it will feel."

"I can't, John... there's still so much to do." She began to twerk--or some approximation of it, as John was sure Moira had never twerked in her life--as she worked and twisted his meat inside her colon, drawing a strangled moan out of her lover. "I... I need to save you, first... and bring the Order... into the future... before I can bring new life into this world. Please... be patient with me, John."

"I won't let them keep you," John hissed as he struggled, in vain, to not build towards his next orgasm, "I... I will tear it all down, and... and I know it's not an easy solution, but I can't let you suffer that fucking... mind-controlling... bullshit-!" John's words became a strangled plea as Moira joined him yet again in peaking pleasure, leaving them both vibrating against John's man-shaped cage.

"I'm... I'm not," Moira panted, "mind-controlled, John... this is... me. I'm just... finally awake."

John stared into her eyes as he continued to fill her ass with seed. She looked into his with trembling light caught in her irises as she hoped... "If this is what you are awake... then I'm going to fuck you back to sleep."

Moira's eyes grew wide as she quickly (and then slowly as she realized her position) withdrew her husband's babymaker from her bowels before taking a step back. She looked John up and down in confusion, her eyes narrowing as she tried to spot something in his aura. "W... What was that?"

John blinked in confusion but was grateful for the moment of peace granted by having his soaked cock chilled by the air-conditioned chamber. "You're definitely not being yourself. It's that blessing, I-"

"No, I mean- your voice just now! Who... who was that?" Moira looked around the room in a worried scramble. Quietly, she picked her Vow Keeper back up from where it had been narrowly missed by John's earlier cumshot and, with a soft click, put her cum-leaking anus back into stasis. Why am I... why do I feel so threatened? What was that?!

John stared blankly at her. "I just... I just mean what I said. It's not pillow-talk: I'm going to save you, Moira... even if you can't see that I'll be saving you."

Moira slowly backed away from John and his still-menacing meat. She thought to put the Vow Keeper back on him, to clean the mess, or anything else to hide the evidence of her act... but more than anything, she wanted to leave this chamber as quickly as possible. "John... I..." That's right. I can't leave yet... not until I know. "I wanted... to try and spare you whatever's coming. They're going to try and get you to cooperate, to admit things, to help the Order however you can, however you'd refuse to, now. You can't promise them anything; you're a warlock. No one would take your word... but me. If you promise me... I'll know if it's true. If you promise to help me, to fix the Order, to fight the evils all around us, to-"

"Moira." The Warden stopped. She had thought there would be more than this; a longer effort to speak to him, to convince him after they shared their overdue moment of intimacy, twisted as it had become by circumstance… but her insight was cold and direct, and she already knew his answer from the first syllables of her name on his lips. "I... have already given you my word on what I'm going to do."

The Warden looked to the ground, dejected. Her halo dimmed until it vanished, leaving only the golden glow in her eyes when they finally rose back up to meet John's steadfast gaze. "Please... don't make me leave you here."

"I'm not," John growled, "you're doing that all on your own. Moira, listen to me!"

"I have to... I have to attend a number of conferences with my counterparts," Moira weakly offered, stunning John with the sudden change, "reorganize the regiments under my father's command, establish the new chain of authority, and see to... John, I need to be a Warden, now more than ever, and I want you there with me." Her voice gained steel as she spoke; she approached him, but only to reach for the keycard under his arm and out of his view. "I'm not asking you to feel... good about the awful things you've seen or felt. I'm asking you to accept them for what they are for now... and help me fix them."

John struggled to control his breath as Moira's offer, demand, or request hung in the air. She was earnest... but she was too earnest. "Accept them..." John's single visible eye furrowed with his anger... and all the anger he felt while trapped in Krieg's memories. "You wouldn't say that if you heard your father order those babies killed as I did-"

"I still would," Moira spat, her frown deepening as she scooped up the keycard, "and I would want even more to understand the circumstance and the reason-"

"What reason could be good enough?!"

"We are protectors of all of humanity, John!" John's face... changed, if only for a moment. Moira narrowed her eyes, unsure-

"The humanity that obeys."

The two stared at one another in shock at his words. Moira's lip trembled. Her eyes gleamed. She looked to the man she was falling so rapidly in love with, bound like an animal, chained to machines, and now snarling at her like the dark beast that seemed to squat on his tongue when his most bitter vitriol was prepared to cut through her... and wondered at what the Lady had intended for them both. What fate was so necessary, what twisted road so perfect to protect the world Gaia loved, that this was where they had come? Moira nearly choked at the natural follow-up question: where would they go from here?

Moira was the one to break the silence with a nod. "I hope... we can help you, John. I don't know what that is, in your voice, in how you change... but perhaps... this is beyond a Warden's abilities."

"Free me," John demanded one last time.