Journey to Become the Zenith-Chapter 88: Night Beneath the Silverwind Expanse

Night Beneath the Silverwind Expanse

"There doesn’t seem to be any strong monsters nearby."

Victor stood still in the middle of the Silverwind Expanse, his golden eyes scanning the endless sea of tall grass swaying beneath the rising night wind.

The plains stretched in every direction.

Dark.

Quiet.

But silence outside the safety of cities never meant safety.

Victor knew that well.

"Still..." he murmured quietly.

"You never know what might happen out here."

His gaze remained calm as the last strip of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon.

Night had arrived.

Victor sighed softly.

Aside from the times he shared a bed with Lane, Videl, and Skyla, this was when he was most vulnerable.

When he slept.

Even someone as confident as Victor never underestimated that danger.

So, he prepared.

Victor raised one hand calmly.

"Stone Dome."

The ground rumbled.

Chunks of soil rose around him like obedient soldiers answering a command.

Within seconds, a circular wall of packed earth surrounded his resting spot, creating a small protective barrier.

Not perfect.

But enough to stop wandering beasts or give him time to react.

Then Victor snapped his fingers lightly.

A small flame appeared above him.

"Fire Sphere."

A glowing ball of fire floated above his head like a miniature sun.

The warm orange light illuminated the grass and the earthen walls surrounding him.

It also chased away the biting cold creeping across the plains.

Victor sat down and leaned his back against the wall of dirt.

The fireball slowly rotated above him, burning steadily while consuming a small stream of mana.

For most people his age, maintaining a spell like this through the night would be exhausting.

But Victor wasn’t most people.

His mana reserves were already absurd for someone his age.

And if he didn’t maintain the fire—

He would freeze before morning.

After settling in, Victor finally spoke.

"Hey, Diana."

His voice echoed softly within the earthen enclosure.

"Why haven’t you been talking to me?"

For a moment, only the wind answered.

Then—

A soft voice echoed inside his mind.

"Well... I thought Master needed some time alone with his thoughts."

Victor chuckled faintly.

"I see..."

He leaned his head back against the dirt wall and stared up at the floating fireball.

"...Hey Diana."

His voice grew slightly more serious.

"I’ve wanted to ask you something for a while."

A ripple of dark mana formed beside him.

Slowly—

Diana appeared.

Her human form manifested gracefully in front of him.

Under the glow of flames, she stayed still. Quietness wrapped around her like smoke curling upward into dark air.

Her long black hair flowed down her back like midnight silk.

A soft glow came from her red eyes as the shadows closed around them.

Wrapped around her was a black sleeveless gown, tight across the top where it held close to her ample bust, opening just enough to revealing a soft line of cleavage. From there it narrowed at the middle, tracing the curve of her narrow waist, then spilled softly over the roundness of her peach-shaped hips.

A gap ran down one edge of the robe, letting the breeze catch the fabric just enough to show the shape of her leg beneath. The air lifted the material slowly, exposing the line of muscle where skin met fold. Light traced the outline as the garment shifted, held open by an unseen push. Her stride kept steady while the slit widened slightly, giving glimpses between motion and stillness. Fabric curled away like paper in a draft, offering brief views each time it fluttered.

A quiet strength moved through her figure, like grace dressed as power. One did not shout; it simply showed up, steady and sure.

His eyes met hers without hurry. Calm sat on his face like a quiet morning.

"What is it you want to ask, Master?"

A light laugh shaped her words. The way she spoke danced between quiet and bright.

Faint though it was, a smile tugged at the edge of her mouth beneath the sheer fabric. Victor sensed it, even without seeing clearly.

For some moments, Victor just watched her without speaking.

Then he sighed.

"Diana..."

"How much do you truly know about me?"

A small shift moved her head to one side.

"I know quite a bit."

A flicker of surprise lifted one brow on Victor’s face.

"How much is quite a bit?"

Diana hummed thoughtfully.

"Well..."

Her voice suddenly turned mischievous.

"I know when you wet your bed as a child."

Victor’s expression froze.

"I know about that day in the forest when you were training with Videl."

Victor groaned softly.

"Diana..."

But she continued teasing him, her eyes gleaming with that familiar spark of mischief that meant she had absolutely no intention of letting him escape this conversation.

"You remember?" she said, leaning back in walk like someone settling in to enjoy a long story.

Victor already felt a headache forming.

"You two were sparring."

He exhaled slowly through his nose. "Diana..."

But she kept going, clearly savoring every second of his discomfort.

"Her shirt was torn during training..."

Diana chuckled softly, clearly reliving the moment.

"...and one side of her breast slipped free, fully exposed as the fabric shifted, sending a sharp pulse of desire through him."

Victor rubbed his forehead, already regretting calling her for talk.

"I was a teenager."

Diana lifted a brow.

"A teenager who stopped breathing for a full five seconds."

Victor exhaled slowly through his nose.

"I did not."

"You did," she said, far too pleased with herself. "You were staring like a starving wolf."

"I was not."

"Oh, you absolutely were," Diana shot back, laughing under her breath. "You froze like someone had turned you into a statue."

Victor dragged a hand down his face.

"...I walked away," he muttered under his breath.

"Eventually," Diana replied immediately.

Victor dragged a hand down his face again, clearly wishing the ground would open and swallow him.

"And one night," Diana continued with obvious amusement, "you couldn’t sleep at all."

Victor sighed heavily.

"...Please stop."

But she didn’t.

"You wandered around the village and ended up near the river."

Victor groaned quietly. He already knew exactly what story was coming next.

"And what did you find?"

Victor already knew where this was going.

"...Lane."

"Yes," Diana said playfully.

"She was bathing in the river."

Victor groaned again, louder this time.

"And you stood there frozen for ten seconds..."

She leaned forward slightly, her grin widening.

"...and then you hid in the bushes watching her bathe."

"Diana."

"What?" she said innocently. "You looked like your soul left your body."

"I turned around immediately."

"After full ten minute."

"Diana."

Off to the side went her hand, flicking air as if brushing dust away, lips stretched wide in triumph. A slow, quiet victory curled at the corners of her mouth, eyes bright with mischief.

"And then there’s Skyla," Diana continued.

His fingers pressed into his skin, hiding what he did not want seen.

"She came out wearing that ridiculous revealing dress," Diana said, shaking her head with amusement. "And she teased you so much that night you nearly pinned her to the bed."

Fingers dragging downward, Victor stared hard at her.

"You enjoy this far too much."

Diana giggled softly.

"Maybe."

She leaned forward again, resting her chin on her palm as if digging deeper into an endless collection of embarrassing memories.

"Oh, and the time you learned wind magic..."

Victor sighed heavily.

"...Don’t."

"You tried to fly."

"I was experimenting."

"You jumped off a cliff."

"I had a theory."

"And fell flat on your face."

Victor rubbed his temple.

"I miscalculated the airflow."

"You miscalculated gravity," Diana corrected, laughing.

Victor groaned under his breath.

"And you didn’t even stop there," she continued. "Remember your first fire spell?"

Victor closed his eyes slowly.

"That one worked."

"Yes," Diana said. "It worked so well you nearly burned down half the wood."

"It was a controlled test."

"You panicked and started throwing water buckets at the trees."

"They were on fire!"

"And then you tried learning water magic the next week," she went on, clearly delighted by the memory. "You said you needed balance."

"That was reasonable."

"You flooded the entire your house."

Victor rubbed both temples now.

"The spell was unstable."

"You blasted a wave so big it knocked three villagers off their feet."

"They shouldn’t have been standing there!"

Diana laughed again.

"And then there was the light spell."

Victor pointed a finger at her.

"That one was successful."

"For about three seconds," she said.

"It worked!"

"You made a light sphere so bright the whole village thought the sun exploded."

Victor leaned back wall.

"At least it was impressive."

"You blinded yourself," Diana said, barely holding back another laugh.

Victor stared at the ceiling like a man questioning every decision he had ever made.

"I was learning."

"You were chaos," she corrected.

"I improved."

"After destroying half the training field."

Victor slowly lowered his gaze toward her.

"You’re enjoying humiliating me."

"Very much."

He sighed deeply.

"...I hate you."

Diana laughed quietly.

But then her tone softened.

"Of course..."

"Those aren’t the things you actually wanted to ask."

Victor lowered his hand slowly.

His golden eyes studied her carefully.

Then Diana continued.

Her voice calm.

Gentle.

"I know, Victor."

"I know that in your previous life..."

"You were the Supreme Demon Emperor — Anos."

The wind outside the earthen wall grew stronger.

The fireball flickered slightly.

Victor remained silent.

Diana continued softly.

"I know you remember everything."

"I know that you were reborn into this world with all those memories intact."

Victor looked away toward the distant darkness of the plains.

He had always suspected she knew.

The contract binding their souls made hiding things nearly impossible.

Still—

Hearing it spoken aloud felt different.

Heavy.

Real.

"...I see."

Victor exhaled quietly. Then he glanced back at her.