Sovereign of the Ashes

Given the usual schedule of Sein’s visits, he was not supposed to visit Yuri today.

Therefore, his appearance in the laboratory today was a “pleasant surprise” for her.

Upon entering, Sein failed to notice any subtle shifts in Yuri’s demeanor.

To him, Yuri had maintained a consistent, withdrawn silence over the years.

It was only when she was retrained on his experiment table, subjected to the scrutiny of experiment instruments that one could truly perceive her as a living, sentient humanoid being through the touch of her skin and the monitoring of her heartbeat.

The coldness in Sein’s eyes when he cast a glance at Yuri caused her to tremble involuntarily due to nervousness.

His gaze was that of a predator eyeing its prey, a reminder of the power dynamics between them. Confined within her glass case, Yuri’s ability to resist was nonexistent.

Over time, Sein’s dominating presence had instilled in her a complex mix of excitement and a perplexing sense of submission.

Human emotions and psyche were indeed complex.

For the time being, Sein had no intention of speaking to Yuri. Her consistent defiance was the reason Sein had to find a more advanced Soul Enslavement magic to control the engineer.

Now that Sein thought about it, it had been nearly three years since he had last spoken to Yuri.

Their interactions were limited to locking eyes and the necessary physical contact during experiments.

Yet, Yuri had changed.

In the first two years following her capture, the female engineer resorted to vocal abuse via mental focus transmission whenever Sein conducted experiments on her.

Yuri’s insults quickly grew repetitive and tiresome for Sein. Her lack of creativity in her insults suggested she was not a verbally abusive woman from the Neisse Civilization in the first place.

However, in recent years, Sein observed a notable change—Yuri had become significantly more reserved.

Yuri’s silence seemed akin to numbness. As a mage who had lived over several decades, Sein had encountered living specimens that gradually became used to prolonged research.

Hence, he did not dwell on Yuri’s behavior. He only had to ensure her survival.

“Hmm, have you been eating less lately?” Sein observed, noting the remaining two-thirds of light blue slime on her plate within the glass case.

“This won’t do. You have to eat more. I need you to stay healthy,” he said.

This slime was a nutritional concoction tailored to Yuri’s dietary needs and based on Neisse Civilization recipes.

Despite its unappetizing appearance, it was packed with nutrients.

Yuri had been subsisting on this monotonous diet for three years, with Sein never considering an alternative recipe or introducing any variety.

Yuri’s observations were accurate—Sein occasionally overlooked her very existence.

His absorption in various projects once led to a nearly three-month period during which Yuri was deprived of food. Despite her resilient nature as a Rank One being, the lack of nourishment nearly led to her fainting from starvation.

That was during an intensive phase of Sein’s body tempering experiments with Selina’s assistance, and he had forgotten about feeding his captive.

Sein’s remark caused an almost indiscernible shift in Yuri’s expression.

She was not sure if Sein’s insistence on her eating more was a genuine display of “concern”.

In the past, Yuri might have openly mocked such comments from Sein.

However, now, aside from the slight shifts in her expression, Yuri remained still inside the glass case cover.

Her demeanor puzzled Sein.

It even made him wonder whether this engineer from the Neisse Civilization before him was actually dying soon.

Reflecting on the specimens in his laboratory, Sein noted that some, despite stable vital signs, had succumbed unexpectedly.

Yuri’s current demeanor mirrored these instances closely.

To him, Yuri was a valuable asset. He had gone to great lengths to subjugate this engineer from the Neisse Civilization.

With a rare look of concern and nervousness on his face, Sein approached Yuri, opening the door of the glass case to examine her eyes.

Her vital indicators—pupil dilation, body temperature, and heartbeat—suggested she was in peak condition, yet her withdrawn state and silence worried Sein.

Perhaps driven by experience, Sein reached for the oval bump on Yuri’s forehead without hesitation.

As expected, Yuri’s face flushed when his finger came into contact with her most sensitive spot.

“Hmnn... Nggh...” A soft murmur escaped her, a stark contrast to previous silence and withdrawn state.

Her eyes became misty too.

Sein felt a surge of relief at her responsiveness. He had to make sure that she was healthy, otherwise, all the efforts and resources he invested would have been in vain.

“You understand me, don’t you? If you fully relax and embrace my spell, I promise to grant you a certain level of freedom,” Sein communicated to her telepathically through mental focus.

The touch from Sein on Yuri’s most sensitive spot left her face flushed and her mind in a whirl. She was not even sure if she had grasped his every word.

Yet, her current condition was the best time for Sein to cast the soul binding spell on her.

Without hesitation, Sein quickly brought out the various spellcasting materials he had prepared in advance and meticulously arranged them in specific positions to create a hexagram pattern around both of them.

Sein threw a fistful of potent magical spices into the air before putting a Red Spiny Fruit into Yuri’s mouth.

Holding the Cries of Fallen Bird Branch, he recited a complex incantation, eliciting a birdlike cry from the branch’s tip.

A burst of pure silver light shot out and entered Yuri’s forehead.

Upon the light’s entry, Yuri’s body convulsed briefly.

Her features contorted with evident pain. It was clear that having one’s soul bound by someone else was not a pleasant experience.

The battle between Yuri’s inherent will and Sein’s magic manifested as visible distress, reflecting the struggle for dominance over her soul.

The hexagram array around them glowed softly.

Its light, along with the air filled with pungent spices, served to weaken Yuri’s resistance.

Although the glow of the array and the scent of the magic spices lingered in the air, Yuri gradually calmed down after nearly half an hour.

A tiny silver mark appeared at the center of her forehead.

This mark was barely discernible unless closely examined.