She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother

Catherine’s excitement was palpable as she stepped back from the library entrance.

“I can’t wait any longer,” she said, clutching the vial tighter. Her eyes practically glowed with anticipation. “Every minute I delay feels like wasting this opportunity.”

She glanced between Alex and Victoria, her smile almost giddy.

“The cultivation chamber is just down that corridor,” she gestured to a passage on the far side of the central hub. “I’ll… I’ll see you both soon. Hopefully as an Apex realm cultivator.”

Without waiting for a response, Catherine turned and practically fled toward the chamber, her footsteps quick and eager against the polished floor.

Victoria watched her go, something wistful crossing her expression.

Alex had already turned back to the library, his attention caught by the sheer volume of knowledge surrounding him.

His fingers traced along the spines of ancient texts, pausing at sealed archives, lingering on holographic displays that cycled through catalogued information.

Victoria stood at the entrance for a moment longer, watching him with those striking eyes… warmer and more open than catherine’s calculating gaze.

She moved closer, her footsteps silent.

Alex’s focus remained absolute, his gaze sweeping across titles, his mind clearly cataloging and prioritizing. The intensity of his concentration was almost tangible.

Victoria stopped beside him, close enough that her presence finally registered.

“Are you jealous?” Alex asked suddenly, not looking away from the books. His tone was teasing, but there was genuine curiosity beneath it.

Victoria blinked, caught off guard. “Jealous? About what?”

Alex finally turned to face her, a slight smile playing at his lips.

“About all the attention Catherine’s getting. About the fact that she’s the one helping me access all this.” He gestured at the library around them. “About the fact that in a few hours, she’ll be standing at Apex realm while you’re still… where you are.”

The words could have been cruel, but his tone wasn’t. It was gentle, almost inviting her to be honest.

Victoria’s jaw tightened slightly. She looked away, then back at him, something vulnerable flickering in her expression.

“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t,” she admitted quietly. “But not in the way you might think.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, a rare moment of unguarded emotion.

“Before… before you… I never cared about cultivation. Never wanted it. I was perfectly content being normal, being human, watching Catherine chase her greatness from the sidelines.”

A pause, thoughtful.

“But now…” Victoria’s voice softened, vulnerability creeping in. “Now I don’t want to be left behind. Not by her. Not by you. Not by whatever extraordinary things are coming.”

She met his eyes directly.

“I’m happy for Catherine. Genuinely. She deserves this, and you’re giving her something no one else could.”

A small smile touched her lips, self-aware and slightly rueful.

“But I’m also realizing… I want to be part of it too. Not just watching from the outside anymore. Not just the normal human sister who stays safe while everyone else reaches for the impossible.”

Her smile strengthened.

“So yes, I’m nervous. But mostly because I’m finally admitting I want something I never thought I’d care about.”

Alex studied her for a long moment, something shifting in his expression.

Then he laughed… warm and genuine.

“Lilith,” he said aloud, and the air beside him shimmered.

The holographic interface materialized, elegant script and data flowing across translucent panels. Victoria’s eyes widened slightly at the display, though she’d seen glimpses of it before.

“Display optimal catalyst for Victoria’s cultivation initiation,” Alex commanded. “Best foundation, highest compatibility, safest integration.”

The interface rippled, data cascading as it processed.

Then a single entry expanded, filling the display:

[Mortal Reforging Elixir]

[Discription: A rare alchemical masterwork designed for initial cultivation awakening. This elixir establishes a Perfect-grade foundation from baseline human physiology, elevating the user to peak human condition and preparing the body for cultivation with zero risk of foundational instability. It purges all accumulated impurities from the mortal body, optimizes meridian pathways for future advancement, and significantly enhances overall vitality. The transformation process requires 5–6 hours with low to moderate discomfort levels.]

[Base Cost: 1000 CP]

[Harem Support System Applied]

[90% Discount – Harem Member: Victoria Blackwood]

[Final Cost: 100 CP]

[Attunement: Victoria Blackwood (Exclusive)]

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED]

Reality rippled beside Alex, and a crystalline vial materialized in his hand… smaller than Catherine’s, but no less radiant. The liquid inside glowed with soft golden light, shot through with threads of crimson and emerald that swirled in hypnotic patterns.

Alex turned to Victoria, offering the vial.

“Here,” he said, his voice carrying quiet certainty. “Take this.”

Victoria’s fingers trembled slightly as they reached for it, but she didn’t pull back.

She’d seen what Catherine’s elixir looked like. Had watched her hold liquid starlight in her palm.

“From now on,” Alex continued, meeting her eyes directly, “you don’t need to feel like you’re on the outside anymore. You’re not watching. You’re not waiting. You’re building something extraordinary right alongside us.”

His expression softened, but the conviction never wavered.

“This is yours, Victoria. Your beginning. And I promise you… it’s going to be incredible.”

Victoria’s fingers closed around the vial, warmth spreading through her palm immediately.

She stared at it for a long moment, then looked up at Alex with eyes that held gratitude, excitement, and something deeper she couldn’t quite name.

“What do I do?” she whispered. “What should I focus on? What should I avoid?”

“Don’t fight it,” Alex instructed. “The elixir will guide your transformation. Your job is to surrender to the process. Let it rebuild you from the ground up. Just… breathe. Stay present. Ride the wave.”

Victoria nodded slowly, still staring at the vial like it was the most precious thing she’d ever held.

Then she looked up at Alex, and without warning, rose on her toes and kissed him.

It was brief but intense… gratitude and excitement and something deeper all compressed into a single moment of contact.

When she pulled back, her smile was radiant.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “Thank you. For not leaving me behind.”

Then she turned and ran… actually ran… toward the second cultivation chamber, her laughter echoing through the vast space.

Alex watched her go, something warm settling in his chest.

Then he turned back to the library, his expression shifting to focus.

There were thousands of texts here. Centuries of accumulated knowledge. Histories, techniques, political analyses, strategic documents.

But he needed to be selective.

He needed the history of the Sacred Families. The truth behind their rise to power, their conflicts, their current positions.

And he needed to understand this world’s cultivation system… how the divine catalysts worked, what stages existed beyond Apex, what barriers prevented advancement to the highest realms.

His eyes swept across the shelves, filtering, categorizing, prioritizing.

Then his gaze stopped.

Fixed on a single volume, set apart from all the others on a pedestal of black stone.

The book itself seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it… bound in material that looked like compressed obsidian, with silver inscriptions that shifted and moved across its surface like living things.

Even from across the room, Alex could feel the weight of it. The significance.

He moved toward it slowly, drawn by something he couldn’t quite name.

The title blazed across the cover in characters that seemed to exist in multiple languages simultaneously, readable yet somehow shifting:

“GENESIS: THE CHRONICLE OF DIVINE ASCENSION”

Beneath it, in smaller script that pulsed with faint luminescence:

From the First Catalyst to the Seven Thrones — A Complete History of Power’s Origin and the Rise of the Sacred Gods

Alex’s hand moved toward it, almost reverently.

His fingers made contact with the cover.

The book opened itself.

And the first page blazed with light.