Chapter 53: You are a demon, Lucian. Act like one.

"You..."

Vivienne’s expression changed.

"You have a lover?"

Lucian looked at her with a surprised look on his face.

"She... she isn’t exactly a lover. I just... thought of her at this moment..."

He answered with a complicated look on his face. Vivienne had instructed him to tell her everything he felt at every possible moment, this was one of the few rules she had laid out in return for training him and Lucian had accepted it.

So everything he felt—

He explained it as clearly as he could.

"So she is not your lover."

"No, she is not."

"But she is not an ordinary acquaintance either."

"No."

"Do you think you two... can be lovers in the future?"

"Yes."

Lucian did not deny it, he wasn’t a fool, he could see where he and Naomi were headed.

"Does she belong to the Supernatural World?"

"No."

Lucian shook his head.

Vivienne paused for a moment, as if analysing the entire situation, then, she looked at him and—

"Distance yourself from her."

She instructed.

Lucian frowned, he wanted to argue, he wanted to say how Naomi helped him when he needed it the most, how she was there when no one else was but...

The words couldn’t come out of his mouth because...

"You understand."

Vivienne looked at him.

Lucian looked away.

"She does not belong to this world, Lucian."

"Neither did I."

"And look what entering it did to you."

Those words hit hard, Lucian closed his mouth but Vivienne did not stop.

"Lucian, she doesn’t even know demons exist. She does not know what Incubus hunger is. She does not know supernatural rules, supernatural politics, the forces that are involved, the powers they have—

She does not know anything, neither does she have the power to resist any of it.

She is only a normal girl who doesn’t even know what she is stepping into."

Lucian’s chest tightened at those words.

"I can protect her."

The words came out automatically, but they were weaker than they should have been and Vivienne noticed that as well.

"No, you cannot."

She spoke directly.

"You cannot protect her from a world you cannot even recognize yet, the way you are right now, you cannot even protect yourself."

And Lucian lowered his head.

After all, he knew it himself.

He had entered the Enclave tonight and felt like a child surrounded by adults speaking an entirely different language. He didn’t understand half the things he heard here.

"And do not forget."

Vivienne continued mercilessly.

"You are not trying to live a quiet life. You are not trying to hide, marry a normal girl, find a normal job, and pretend the blood in your veins is nothing.

You want revenge.

You want to rip apart the demon who killed your parents."

The instant those words were said, the air in the room changed and Lucian’s eyes darkened.

"You want to enter the world he belongs to, learn its rules, grow strong enough to survive it, and then drag him out."

"Yes... I do..."

Lucian’s breathing became slower as the look in his eyes changed. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Then understand what that means."

Vivienne stepped closer.

"Revenge creates enemies.

Demons have allies, so do every other supernatural force, everything here is interconnected in a complex net.

You wish to enter that net and cut one of its strings—

It doesn’t come without consequences.

Keep in mind, the moment you stop being a new recruit and become someone worth noticing, people will look for what can hurt you.

And a girl outside the network, who knows nothing and trusts you because you make her laugh—

Her name will be known."

Lucian flinched at those words.

He could see it happening as well and this time, the voice inside him saying that he would protect her became even weaker.

"Keep her away from this world, Lucian."

Vivienne repeated those words, then, she shrugged.

"Being with you without knowing what you are is only going to hurt her anyway, after all, you are no longer capable of having a normal relationship."

"What does that mean?"

"It may be fine right now since your energy reserves are pitiful, but as you grow, one woman will not be enough for you."

"What...?"

Lucian’s expression changed.

"An Incubus does not simply seek release. He gathers energy, desire, attention, surrender, emotional charge and this appetite only grows with his reserves.

If you rely on one woman, that too, on a normal human woman, you will break her, physically and mentally.

This is the reason Incubi surround themselves with partners, attendants, companions, donors, lovers, worshippers, or contracts.

All of it may not be romance, some are purely transactional and important for survival but...

Would a normal woman ever be able to accept that?"

Vivienne asked and Lucian...

He already knew the answer to that question.

"So stay away from her Lucian. End it before it turns into something far worse than it already has. Accept that you are no longer part of the ordinary world."

Vivienne repeated.

"Besides, you do not exactly have the leisure to live such a life, not when you have a demon to hunt."

Her voice then turned heavier as she stepped towards him.

"You want revenge, so understand what revenge asks from you in exchange.

It asks for discipline even when you are tired.

It asks you to train even when your body is screaming.

It asks you to move in agony when resting is an easier option.

It asks you to choose strength again and again until choosing anything else feels like betrayal."

Vivienne looked at him, her eyes shined with an intense, almost hypnotic look.

"Selfish.

You must become selfish.

Your strength should come first.

Your control should come first.

Your revenge should come first."

Vivienne then took a small pause, letting those words seep into Lucian’s very soul and—

"And if something does not make you stronger, safer, sharper, or closer to your enemy, you must learn to discard it like it is a distraction.

That is the only way you will get the revenge you crave so much."

Lucian’s violet eyes glowed as those words rang in his head.

"There it is."

Seeing his expression, Vivienne grinned.

"Those were the eyes I wanted to see."

Lucian nodded, looking at Vivienne with a new look on his face.

"From this day forth, train until your body stops shaking, then train while it shakes. Feed when necessary, not when your pride approves it. Learn from anyone you can, use anything you find useful, endure anything if it benefits you.

You are a demon, Lucian.

Act like one."