Journey to Become the Zenith-Chapter 22: The Weight of Desire and Destiny

The Weight of Desire and Destiny

Once the negotiations were settled, Clara handed Victor and Lane their registration forms.

Her expression had returned to pure professionalism—cold, controlled, unreadable.

"If you need help writing," she said flatly, "I can fill them out for you. Just tell me the details."

Victor raised a brow.

"Do I look illiterate to you?"

Clara didn’t blink. "You look unpredictable."

Lane quietly took the parchment from Clara’s hand.

"We can write."

Videl stood slightly behind Victor, sapphire eyes observant, protective without seeming so.

The two quickly filled out their forms. Victor’s handwriting was surprisingly clean. Lane’s strokes were neat and precise.

Clara accepted the papers back.

"Return tomorrow morning for the evaluation."

Simple. Final.

Their dealings with the Adventurers Guild were finished—for now.

The moment they stepped out into the street, Lane turned to Victor.

Her black eyes were calm as ever, but something beneath them flickered.

"Victor... are you interested in Isabella and Clara?"

There it is.

The question she had been holding in since the office.

Victor didn’t hesitate.

"Yes. Those girls are indeed pretty good."

No embarrassment.

No denial.

No attempt to soften it.

Lane’s expression didn’t change.

Videl, however, stiffened slightly.

"Is it because of her chest?" Lane asked evenly.

A merchant walking past nearly tripped.

"Lane!" Videl whispered sharply. "A lady shouldn’t say such things in public."

Lane didn’t look away from Victor.

Victor didn’t look away from her.

"Hmph. Is that how you see me, Lane?" he said calmly. "I don’t care for bodily flesh such as her chest. To me, those are just excess baggage. Might even slow her down in battle."

Lane blinked once. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Videl stared.

Victor continued, eyes gleaming faintly.

"What interested me was her strength. I provoked her multiple times. She never lost control. She kept her trump card hidden until the very end."

He exhaled slowly.

"Her mana flow was stable. More stable than mine. That means her control surpasses mine."

His voice lowered.

"She was cautious. Controlled. Dangerous."

Lane nodded slowly.

"So what you’re interested in is power."

"Yes."

Victor’s lips curved faintly.

"Power she’s holding back."

For a moment, excitement flickered across his face.

Too much excitement.

He caught it.

Calmed himself.

Videl folded her arms lightly.

"So what are we doing now?"

"Better equipment," Victor replied. "You still have the two gold coins for the academy fee, right? Since it’s free now, use them."

Videl nodded.

"When we were inside the guild... even the newcomers were better equipped than us."

She glanced at her old armor.

"If adventurers look like that... knights must be even more well-equipped."

Victor found the statement amusing but said nothing.

So they walked.

Through the winding streets of Fantom City.

Vendors shouting.

Steel clanging from distant forges.

Spices, leather, dust, heat.

Lane’s eyes quietly observed everything.

Videl was drawn to displays of weapons.

Victor walked slightly ahead—

—but his mind was elsewhere.

Damn it.

His thoughts sharpened.

Ever since earlier, my emotions have been unstable.

He clenched his jaw slightly.

Isabella... Clara...

His pulse had reacted.

That was the problem.

Being a human child is more inconvenient than I thought.

Since turning fourteen, changes had begun.

Physical.

Emotional.

Desire creeping back like a forgotten hunger.

I’ve started feeling sexual urges again after so long.

He exhaled slowly.

It had been easier in the village.

Lane.

Videl.

Skyla.

Skyla...

A faint smile crossed his face.

Back in Kanal Village, she had been shy but warm. Her green eyes full of devotion. She had helped him in ways no one else could.

Lane, stoic yet intense.

Videl, innocent but burning bright beneath her restraint.

Three girls already deeply in love with him.

And today?

He met two more.

Isabella.

Clara.

He clicked his tongue lightly.

First day in the city and I’m already drawn to two more women.

He remembered something else.

The two noblewomen he had encountered in the forest on the way here.

Aura... with her silver hair and red eyes.

Sana... punkish blonde, sharp blue gaze.

Both rescued from bandits.

Both had looked at him differently.

Five.

Five women orbiting him already.

He almost laughed.

This life really does revolve around women.

But he didn’t complain.

Because—

(Host, gather bonds. Dominate hearts. Build emotional connections before full awakening.)

The mechanical voice echoed faintly in memory.

The Dominate Heart System.

Partially awakened.

Full awakening on his sixteenth birthday.

Four years.

Gather as many bonds as possible.

He smirked slightly.

"So that’s how it is..."

Lane glanced at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

But in his mind—

Fine then. I’ll gather them all.

His thoughts drifted again.

Demons embody one sin.

Humans embody all seven... and all seven virtues.

That made them dangerous.

Flexible.

Capable of wielding every element.

Heroes—mutations capable of channeling divinity.

Why would gods create something that could rival them?

He narrowed his eyes.

Angels born from excess light.

Demons to balance darkness.

Elves to heal land and serve gods.

Dragons older than gods.

Beastmen evolved from humans.

But humans?

No clear purpose.

No clear origin.

Too adaptable.

Too dangerous.

Were humans an accident?

Or were they created by something beyond the gods I know?

His mind spiraled deeper.

Until—

He felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Victor."

Lane pointed ahead.

"We found it."

He blinked back into the present.

In front of them stood a shabby building.

Faded paint.

Wood warped by time.

A sign hung crooked above the door—a sword and axe crossed.

Dust gathered along the windows.

Videl’s eyes widened slightly.

"Victor... let’s go inside. I feel something calling to me."

Without waiting, she pushed the door open.

The bell above it gave a weak chime.

Victor looked at her back.

Sapphire eyes determined.

Hero’s instinct guiding her.

He followed.

Lane followed behind him quietly.

As the door shut behind them, Victor’s golden eyes gleamed faintly.

Five women already drawn toward him.

Two more possibly waiting in his future.

And a system whispering in his mind to bind them all.

He exhaled slowly.

"Interesting..."

The air inside the weapon shop felt old.

But powerful.

And something within it— Was waiting.