Eclipse Presence Erasure skill gained.
Mind-Silencing Execution skill gained.
Mirror-Eclipse Prison skil...
Moonstep Sil...
Isaac stood still for a moment, letting the last wave of information settle.
He was grinning as he checked the brief description of skills.
Eclipse Presence Erasure (SSS+): Erases sound, scent, aura, and mental presence.
Mind-Silencing Execution (SSS+): You can assassinate someone by severing their thought-flow. This is a mental "decapitation" technique that bypasses armor. The target’s Spirit Power stat must be less than yours.
Mirror-Eclipse Prison (SSS+): Forms a mirror dimension around the target or area you touch. Only you can freely enter or exit. The target cannot escape unless they shatter the mirror-dimension’s "core reflection," which is hidden and moves.
Moonstep Silent Footwork (SSS): Steps leave no sound or trace. Enhances speed so sharply that you appear as a flicker of moonlight. Skill effect increases by 200% during the nights.
Silver Crescent Whipblade Dance (SSS): Givens high mastery of segmented whip-blade. Enhances your segmented whip-blade cutting ability and durability by 1000%.
Perception Lock Disrupt (SSS): You manipulates target senses, forcing them to ignore you existence entirely, even when you stand beside them.
Killing Mirage Projection (SSS): Create clones that have all of your physical stats, and can use all of your skills. Skill costs and cooldowns are shared. (You receive 20% of the damage the clone experienced (physical or mental if they are destroyed.)
Void-Silence Guillotine (SSS+): A single silent strike that creates a void-shearing arc. It cuts through regenerative abilities.
Eclipse Dimensional Slip (SSS+): Briefly phases into a silent void dimension to dodge attacks, reposition, or appear behind an enemy instantly.
Foxfire Soulburn Kiss (SSS+): Blue-white celestial foxfire burns soul, stamina, and memories. A kiss or touch can brand an enemy with soul-searing flames.
Celestial Death-Flare Assassination (SSS+): Combines foxfire, shadow, and mental collapse into a single punish-your-soul execution strike. It bypasses typical death resistance.
’Death resistance? There is something like that? I wonder what it does.’
He ignored the thought for now, since he had no way of finding the answer at the moment.
He instead focus on the more important news.
His strength had grown by leaps and bounds!
And thanks to Celestial Truth-Seeking Fox Eyes and the Spirit Power stat boost from the Conqueror Candidate title, Catherine couldn’t hide from him anymore.
No disguise, no illusion, no perception-blocking trick would stop him from finding her.
His clone reached Fortified City 50 through the teleporter in seconds.
At his current skill level, Isaac could create seven clones.
One was taking care of the harvest. Another had gone to meet Althea and Overlord Aurora. A third was preparing for the warehouse construction.
And another was dedicated entirely to searching for Catherine.
He could make more than just three clones, but he was still getting used to splitting his awareness so many ways.
Even with his upgraded mind, controlling multiple clones at once needed steady adjustment.
As for his wives in the Cradle... let’s just say, after sharing Catherine’s status, Isaac’s mind had sharpened enough that he could focus on each of them without getting overwhelmed due to his awareness being split for clones.
He was now teaching them—clearly and thoroughly—that they shouldn’t mess with him.
Just because they had him outnumbered didn’t mean they could win.
He shook his head, and focused on the task in front of him.
Finding Catherine.
He moved quickly across the city.
His clone jumped from one rooftop to another, crossing wide streets and gliding over small plazas.
He checked every teleporter he passed.
With his Wind-kissed title, he didn’t create shockwaves. To anyone below, he was just a faint blur at the edge of their vision.
Still, he couldn’t find her.
He landed on the roof of Pioneer University’s main building.
"Did she go to Fortified City 22 already?" Isaac muttered. "Ruby, come here."
A gentle hum responded, and a hologram materialized beside him. The familiar form of Ruby—the elf-shaped AI—stood with her hands clasped lightly behind her back.
Isaac looked at her and took a breath. "Show me the footage from all teleporters. Start from half an hour ago."
Ruby nodded and opened her palm. Small hologram projections rose from it like floating glass tiles.
She flicked her hand, and the images expanded in front of Isaac, forming a wide grid.
He didn’t bother asking if Catherine appeared on the cameras.
With her perception-altering skills, Ruby wouldn’t notice her even if Catherine stood right in front of the lens.
SSS-rank and SSS+-rank perception blocking didn’t just hide you, they made detecting you on camera impossible too since the person watching the feed would also get affected by perception blocking skills.
Still, Isaac watched every projection closely.
It took less than five minutes.
"There." His eyes narrowed. "Found you."
Catherine had been moving through crowds so naturally that no one would have looked at her twice. Blending in came as easily to her as breathing. Even without her perception-hiding skills, no regular person would have noticed her. Even Isaac would’ve missed her if not for his boosted stats sharpening his senses and instincts.
A wry smile touched his lips.
She was standing near a teleporter... but not entering it.
She kept glancing toward it like someone torn between two choices. Her body leaned forward every now and then as if she was about to step into it, but then she pulled back again.
It was a small, subtle hesitation, but Isaac understood it immediately.
She wanted to leave. But she didn’t want to leave him.
The contradiction made his chest tighten in a strange way.
"Which teleporter is this?" he asked Ruby.
"It is a teleporter in the outer ring," Ruby answered.
Isaac raised an eyebrow. "There’s a teleporter in the outer ring? I thought all of them were in Sector 0, except for the few in the inner ring."
Ruby nodded. "This one is a secret emergency teleporter. It is only used for evacuation."
Isaac hummed and closed the holograms.
He moved without wasting a second.
It took him ten minutes to reach the location.
He could have teleported, but Catherine would definitely run the moment she saw the black cloud that formed during teleportation.
She wasn’t predictable in most things, but she was predictable in her escape instincts.
On the way, he spoke through his mental link. "Alice, Emily, Celia, I need permission from you three for something..."
After talking to them, he brought his real body out of the Cradle.
Alice, Emily and Ceila had agreed to his request.
It was time.
’System, share Catherine’s physique and bloodline!’
Celestial Kitsune (Apex rank) bloodline gained.
Celestial Tempter Body gained.
Celestial Kitsune transformation skill gained.
...
Catherine POV
Catherine stood in front of the teleporter with complicated eyes.
She had been staring at it for a while, unable to step in or step away.
Her mind was a mess, too tangled for her to put on her usual teasing smile. Her heart felt heavy, almost bruised, and she hated that feeling. She blinked slowly, telling herself she would enter the next activation cycle for sure.
Just one more second. One more breath. One more moment to gather herself.
The teleporter light flickered.
She exhaled and prepared to step forward.
Then a shadow appeared beside her.
She turned her head.
Isaac.
He was there.
Her breath caught.
’I didn’t sense him at all.’
Her body tensed immediately. Not out of fear, but out of instinct.
She knew what this meant. He had her perception-blocking skills now. He probably had her stealth, her movement techniques, and several or perhaps all of her class skills. And combined with his own monstrous stats, she had no chance of detecting him if he wanted to approach quietly.
Normally, Catherine would have complained. She would have told him it was unfair he copied her abilities without asking. She probably would’ve demanded something embarrassing as compensation just to tease him and watch him flinch.
But right now... she couldn’t think of any jokes.
All she could see was the image of his lifeless body she had been holding earlier.
It had burned itself into her memory earlier, and the moment she saw him now, that memory resurfaced so sharply she felt her stomach twist.
It reminded her of today, and the day he "died" when he was young. The day she held him and screamed his name, shaking him, begging him to wake up.
She had sworn then that she would always protect him.
That she would become strong enough to stand in front of anything that threatened him.
That she would never let something like that happen again.
That promise was why she trained so hard. It was why her willpower became so strong that she could suppress her own dangerous Celestial Kitsune instincts. She shaped her instincts into something controlled, something safe, because she refused to risk hurting him.
She worked herself to the edge of exhaustion for years.
She reached heights most people couldn’t even dream of.
She did all of it for him.
And recently, she had started getting close to him again. She felt happiness returning. She let out a natural smile quite often. She looked forward to seeing him every day.
For a moment, she let herself believe they could have a future together.
But then she watched him die.
Because of her.
Again.
Her hands curled at her sides. Her lips trembled, but she held them tightly shut. She couldn’t let herself break now, not when he was standing right next to her.
Her voice wouldn’t come out.
Her chest felt tight.
Her eyes burned.
Everything she had tried to bury came rushing to the surface.
She didn’t even look at the teleporter anymore. She didn’t care about running. She didn’t care about hiding. She didn’t care about the mission she thought she had to complete.
The only thing she saw was Isaac.
And the memory of losing him twice.
She lowered her head slightly, unable to meet his eyes.
"...I’m sorry."
The words were soft and shaky, almost soundless, but Isaac heard them.
Then she looked up.
Her expression shifted in an instant, like she was trying to wipe away the sadness she’d shown seconds ago.
She forced a smile. It looked natural, making Isaac wonder how many times she had masked her emotions for her to be able to do it easily.
"Why are you here? Don’t tell me you want me back~? I’m sorry, but I have to leave for Fortified City 22."
"Just send a clone there," Isaac said.
He kept his gaze on the teleporter lights beside them. He didn’t point out that she hadn’t said a single word about his resurrection.
People moved around them, unaware of the two figures standing in the middle of the open plaza.
Catherine’s stealth skills made sure no passerby would notice them unless they wanted them to.
She tilted her head slightly.
"How are you so sure I’m not sending my clone there? What if I’m keeping my main body here to spend time with my dear Isaac?"
Isaac let out a quiet chuckle.
"I bet you’re sending your main body there. And the moment you’re gone, you’ll cancel every clone in the city. That way, we won’t run into each other for a while."
He turned to look at her fully.
"For someone who acts mature all the time, you sure like running away whenever you face something difficult."
She opened her mouth, ready to fire back something teasing.
But Isaac spoke first.
"I’m not going to stop you."
She blinked. "What? Then why are you here?"
"I’m coming with you."
Her breathing paused for a moment.
He didn’t look away.
"I’m not here to force you to change anything. I’m not here to tell you what to do, either. But I want you to understand something clearly. What happened in the house was my fault, not yours. So until I earn your forgiveness for that, I’m following my dear sister everywhere," he said with a teasing smile at the end.
Catherine stared at him, surprised and confused by how direct he was being.
Still, a teasing smile tugged at her lips.
Her inner thoughts and outer expression were completely opposite.
"What if I ask for something obscene? Will you do that too?"
"Yes," Isaac said. "I’ll do anything. In fact, I’ll show you my sincerity right now. Close your eyes."
Catherine studied him for a few seconds before she slowly closed them.
She heard his footsteps approach and stop in front of her.
Then she felt his hand slide around her waist.
The other slipped into her hair, holding the back of her head gently.
Her breath caught.
Her body trembled without her wanting it to.
A tight instinctive fear rose inside her. It was fear of what her body might do to him, fear of what she might lose again.
She wanted to push him away.
"Isaac—"
"Do you trust me?"
The question froze her.
She wanted to say yes. Logic told her that if he was attempting this, he must have a reason. He must have gained her bloodline or physique and it would let him survive her vitality drain. He wouldn’t take the risk otherwise.
But instincts didn’t follow logic. Neither did her heart.
"Isaac, stop this. I’m going to get angry—"
Her words broke when he pressed his lips to hers.
Her eyes stayed shut.
A jolt ran through her spine, sharp enough to make her knees weaken.
She had felt this before, this dangerous rush of pleasure, this instinctive reaction she had spent years suppressing.
’I need to stop.’
Her heart hammered in her chest. Her legs grew unsteady. Every part of her felt like it was being pulled toward him.
It was the same sensation she felt earlier when he kissed her for the first time.
This time, the feeling was stronger.
Like a door she had sealed shut for years was slowly being pried open.
For a moment she pushed him back and opened her eyes.
She looked at him quickly, checking his body for any sign of collapse, any change in his countenance, any sign that she was harming him.
But Isaac was fine.
Completely fine.
Vitality flowed between them, yes. The initial surge had been sharp, but now only a small stream passed between their bodies, barely noticeable.
He was comfortable, calm, and unaffected.
Before her thoughts caught up, Isaac pulled her back into a soft kiss.
This time Catherine didn’t resist.
Her fear eased. She now knew he wouldn’t die from this. She didn’t need to hold back.
And everything she’d been restraining broke instantly.
Tears spilled from her eyes as the kiss deepened.
Isaac froze for a second, surprised.
He tried to pull back.
But Catherine’s arms slipped around his neck and held him there.
The door she had forced shut all these years shattered wide open.
Every bottled feeling, every fear, every moment she had blamed herself poured out all at once.
The kiss grew desperate with raw emotion mixed with relief and longing.
Her breathing was uneven.
Her kisses were unsteady, urgent, and full of everything she didn’t know how to say.
Her tails appeared behind her, soft and glowing faintly with her suppressed mana. They wrapped around Isaac’s body like a warm cocoon, pulling him closer.
Isaac didn’t resist.
He let her cling to him.
He let her pull him into her arms like she was afraid he would vanish if she loosened her grip.
Her lips trembled against his, but she didn’t stop.
She kissed him harder, her tears streaking down her face.
When she finally broke for air, she rested her forehead against his, breathing shakily.
Her voice was raw.
"Don’t die on me ever again."
Isaac tightened the arm around her waist, and smiled.
"I won’t."
Catherine smiled.
It was so bright that Isaac was stunned for a moment.
Even though she had always given a smile that looked natural, he realized that her actual smile was far more beautiful.
"Did you fall for me already?" she asked, her voice light after the weight lifted.