Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 60. The Network of Souls
Rick closed his eyes and sent back his love and gratitude. Then, somehow, he finally drifted off to sleep. It was too early for dawn to arrive. When he woke up, he found ceremonial robes laid out for him.
The robes were deep red with gold embroidery, matching Sylvia’s colors. He dressed automatically, and although he knew what was about to happen, his mind felt strangely calm.
This was it... The last test...
Sylvia arrived to fetch him in person, adorned as the Dragon Queen. Her armor-dress was more elaborate than usual.
The scales glimmered in shades of red and gold with each movement she made. Real flames were intricately woven into her styled hair. She embodied the strength and authority of the ruler she had always been.
"Are you ready?" she asked softly.
"Yeah, even though I’m so nervous right now, let’s do it anyway."
They walked through the citadel together, and this time the halls were filled with dragons. Thousands of dragons stood silently in the corridors, all resembling people, as Rick and Sylvia passed by.
Some appeared interested, while others seemed uncertain. A few looked hostile, but most wore serious expressions, as if they were attending a funeral. It was possible they were.
The Sacred Dragon Altar was at the very top of the citadel, even higher than Sylvia’s throne room. They climbed stairs that seemed to go on forever, and with each step, they got closer to the sky.
Finally, they stepped onto a platform of smooth black stone that stuck out from the mountain like a diving board into the clouds. Rick’s breath stopped because the view was too big to believe.
Mountain ranges went on and on, and the aurora was already visible even though it was noon. It danced across the sky in red and gold.
Dragons were all around the platform. Not in the shape of people, but in their real forms. Hundreds of giant dragons sat on rocks and cliffs, all of them staring at the small platform where Rick stood.
Seven ancient dragons in human form stood in the middle of the platform, and Rick could feel their power in his bones. Drakor was also there, standing to the side with a blank look on his face.
The oldest dragon said, "Rick Rolland," and his voice was clear even though the wind was blowing.
"You have made it through the Trial of Strength and the Trial of Mind."
"The Trial of Character is next. You will try to make a Spirit Bond with Queen Sylvia Flameheart."
"If you succeed, you will be recognized as her partner and friend to all dragons. If you don’t succeed..." He stopped for a moment. "Your death will be a quick one this time."
"That’s good to know," Rick said quietly.
"The ceremony will start right away," the elder said. "Get in your places."
Sylvia took Rick to the middle of the platform, where a complicated pattern had been carved into the stone. Draconic runes that looked like they were glowing with fire. They stood in front of each other, and Sylvia held both of his hands.
"Last chance to back out," she said softly.
Rick whispered back, "Not a chance. I didn’t make it through two trials just to give up at the end."
"Then keep those thoughts in mind. It’s going to hurt when the bonding starts, more than anything else you’ve been through."
"My essence will try to take over yours, not because I want it to, but because that’s how power works. You need to hold on by not fighting it or trying to resist."
"Just go through it. Let the bond form naturally, even if every instinct tells you to run."
"I believe in you."
"That might not be enough."
"Then I guess we’ll see."
Rick didn’t know what the Council of Elders were saying when they started to chant in an old language. The draconic runes under their feet got brighter, and Rick felt the stone getting hotter. The dragons that had gathered around them sang a song that made Rick’s chest vibrate.
"It’s starting," Sylvia said, and her eyes began to glow with inner fire. "Rick, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I—"
The bond hit like a freight train until Rick’s vision burst into a white-hot pain. It felt like molten gold was being poured straight into his brain, burning away everything that made him human and replacing it with something big, old, and scary.
He screamed, and the sound came out of his throat without him even thinking about it. This wasn’t like getting close to Carmilla, Natasha, or even Liora.
The experience was like trying to combine his mind with a supernova. Sylvia’s presence was too much for him to handle.
It was like a thousand years of memories, feelings, and dragon rage all hitting him at once. He felt as if he were breaking under the overwhelming pressure.
He could barely feel the blood running from his nose and eyes through the pain. His other Spirit Bonds were reacting intensely, and the connections with Carmilla and Natasha pulsed with fear as they sensed his pain from a distance.
Carmilla fell to the ground in the middle of the training grounds in Valdris, hundreds of miles away, and screamed Rick’s name. Natasha fell out of her study chair, and ice magic exploded around her in waves that she couldn’t control.
She could feel Rick dying through their bond. Liora was in the middle of her evening prayers when she gasped and bent over. She felt like Rick was being torn apart in a spiritual way, and divine light burst from her body.
Rick was no longer screaming at the altar. He had reached that point where the body just stops working, but his mind, his will, was still there, still fighting.
He could feel Sylvia trying to pull away, trying to stop the bonding before it killed him, but it was too late. The ceremony had gone too far to turn back, stopping now would hurt his soul just as much as going on would.
"Rick!" Sylvia’s voice broke through the pain. "Let it go! You have to LET IT GO, or it will ruin you!"
But Rick couldn’t stop, letting go was the same as giving up, and giving up meant death. So he held on with all his strength, even though he could feel his mind starting to break apart.
Then things changed. The Spirit connected with Carmilla, Natasha, and Liora, who had been panicking, and suddenly it came to life with a purpose.
He felt Carmilla’s strength and willpower to protect the people she loved flow into him. Natasha’s clear mind cut through the noise and made sense of his jumbled thoughts.
And Liora’s divine healing wrapped around his soul like a shield, keeping him together when he should have broken apart, but something new and strange was happening. The bonds weren’t just helping Rick out on his own.
They were connecting with one another, creating a spiritual energy network that had never existed before. Four different kinds of power, four different bonds, all coming together to make something entirely new.
The dragons that had come together gasped. The Council of Elders looked shocked, too. The aurora above the platform burst into a light show of many colors, with red and gold mixing with silver and blue and heavenly white.
Sylvia felt it too. Her powerful dragon essence, which had been crushing Rick, suddenly ran into trouble.
Not just from Rick, but from all the bonds in the network. It was like she was trying to crush four people at once instead of just one, and the four of them were strong enough to push back.
"This is...! I can..."
"...do it!"
