That was when a merchant player strode up to the center. "I-I know the rules!"

Every other player quickly turned toward him, hoping for details.

That was when a rift tore out of thin air, and a cloaked figure emerged, laughing coolly. "Foolish mortals! What do you think this is, your average death game?"

I raised a brow—it was a Prophet, a guide of their respective level.

Smirking in amusement, the Prophet's voice soon rang thunderously. "Listen—that Entity will make sure you suffer as much as you can, as you die the way you wished. And as you can see, the holy knight has just tried to fight that darkness with his light, only to be consumed by it.

"If you want to survive, you must find the One True Wish."

The merchant player's eyes lit up as if he had found salvation, and he said softly, "I-I wish to live out my days and die peacefully from old age."

Silence ensued for a few beats, and the deep voice thundered, "As you wish."

Everyone's eyes lit up with hope, seeing that the merchant player was unharmed.

"Yes, this is it!" a young mage exclaimed excitedly. "I wish to die peacefully from old age too!"

"Me too!" More voices echoed, as everyone quickly hopped on the bandwagon as if they had found the right answer.

They all looked thrilled as if they had already won, with some already discussing about the rewards of the level.

I leaned against the pillar, watching in amusement at the fools who thought themselves clever—the game wouldn't be categorized as Nightmare-level if it were that easy.

Even the Prophet was laughing gleefully. "In that case, you should all bask in your 'triumph'…"

With that, he faded into the Darkness.

That was when I noticed the Darkness was slowly turning its attention to me.

After all, I was the only person who never made a wish.

"It's just you left."

The Darkness stopped in front of me, almost touching my skin.

It only made me even more thrilled; no matter what kind of Entity it was, they always had desires.

And being a succubus, it was my tenet to taste this man, as my instincts were screaming for me to conquer him… to dominate him, so that he would completely fall under my seduction.

"What is your wish?" he pressed.

"My wish?" I giggled alluring. "What an interesting question."

I straightened myself, releasing all my succubus pheromones that filled the air with an indescribable sweetness.

"Before I answer… " I stared fixedly at the Darkness. "Show me your true face."

The Darkness seemed to flicker, and I took a step forward so that he completely shrouded me.

"I can feel the perfect masculine form behind that darkness. Broad shoulders, muscular chest, and…"

I trailed off for a moment before continuing, "Chiseled muscles that I really want to caress.

If other methods didn't work, why not try a succubus' charm?

"Most important…" I purred alluringly, "I can feel the endless charm that you carry."

Even as the Darkness began to shudder, I brushed my finger over my lips as I spoke calmly, "As for my wish… I wish to be conquered by a truly powerful Entity, dominated from soul to flesh, and to die in pure ecstasy."

I could hear the other Players gasping behind me, but I kept going, every word I spoke a poison seeping into his consciousness. "That includes hyperventilation, shudders, and blanked eyes as I lose myself again and again as I climax."

At that point, the Darkness was shaking so hard that it was going to lose control.

I could feel his shock and confusion, but also something further… Yearning? Excitement?

Then, flashing a smile that would take anyone's breath away, I played my trump card.

"Oh, and you'll have to do it yourself," I finished, my eyes locked at the center of the Darkness. "You're the only one who can bring me such euphoria. I want you to use that perfect body of yours to dominate me, so that I would reach the pinnacle of my existence in your arms."

Once I finished, there was a deathly silence, as if everything around me had frozen up.

Even the darkness stopped shifting, the breeze it leaves in its wake turning still.

I could hear the breaths of the other players, along with their shock and fear.

However, all my attention was on the Entity before me, who was clearly stunned.

An ancient Entity, powerful and grasping life in its very hands, was stunned by my direct seduction.

And the reaction left me even more thrilled, as I loved it when the most powerful prey exposed their openings under my seduction.

Nonetheless, the long silence eventually ended.

The voice that spoke out of the darkness this time, however, was not threatening, but a youth's exclamation of shock and embarrassment instead.

"W-What are you saying?!"

[New Main Mission assigned: Witness three dawns in the manor]

The cool voice of the System announced over the deathly silence.

I raised a brow, still watching the motionless Darkness before me.

It seemed that my wish had really put him on the spot.

Meanwhile, the other Players were relieved by the ease of the information and all hurried away.

However, I noticed that the Darkness remained, as if still trying to figure out what had just happened.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

-

After observing my surroundings, I followed everyone else to the manor hall.

In the middle was a gigantic crystal chandelier, and all the walls were rows of ancient mirrors, each labeled with a player's name.

When the young mage stood before his own mirror, everyone saw an image of him appearing in the mirror, being torn apart by countless tentacles.

His face turned pale right away.

Everyone followed suit, but it was all gory sights of death.

When I went to my mirror, however, there was only opaqueness with no images to be seen.

"Interesting," a voice with a clipped accent spoke behind me. "It seems that there's one among us whose destiny is beyond prediction."

I turned to see a man walking toward me, picking up the scent of blood on him right then.

He was a vampire.

"Cassian, at your service." He bowed elegantly. "Pleased to meet you, mysterious woman."

Everyone else started to surround me, their eyes filled with wariness and fear.

"Her mirror is empty?!" the young mage cried. "What does that mean?"

"That means she's already dead, or…"

As Cassian's eyes twinkled enigmatically, I giggled, "Or that I have control over my own destiny?"

The mood in the hall tensed right away, but Cassian charismatically set everyone's mind at ease and assigned everyone to their respective rooms.

It was time we got some rest after being teleported here foreign hours ago.

All the rooms were luxurious, but everyone voted unanimously to have me sent straight to the basement.

I raised a brow—did they think it was the worst room?

"This isn't fair!" I pouted as if upset. "Why am I sent to the basement?"

Cassian smirked. "Because you're that unpopular."

I stood there and kept pouting, waiting until they retorted to their rooms and quietly warped away, sniffing the trail of the Boss and found him at the center of the room.

"What?!" I exclaimed in feigned surprise. "You live here?"

The Darkness flinched, his voice clearly flustered as he demanded, "H-How did you get in here?!"

I slowly walked toward him, my hips swaying seductively as I giggled. "Amazing, right? It's just a cheap trick."

"Leave," he growled sternly.

"Why?" I asked, my hands brushing the armrest of the throne. "Our destinies are intertwined. Why not get in bed to learn about each other more?"

The Darkness quaked as he exclaimed shrilly, "What are you talking about?!"

I leaned my head to the side, continuing sweetly, "Let's start with how I should address you. Master? Daddy? Or… God?"

There was a deathly silence as I felt his internal turmoil, and so, I leaned further toward the Darkness.

"So, what would you like to be called? Aren't you going to tell me?"

There was more silence, and he eventually growled through his teeth, "Morpheus."

I smiled triumphantly. "That is a beautiful name. Well, Morpheus, I will be staying here tonight…"

"No!" he promptly bellowed in panic. "You can't!"

"Why not?" I pressed further in, clinging to his neck and looking him straight in the eyes. "What do you fear? That I will do unspeakable things to you? Or perhaps…"

I trailed off, letting my lips brush against his face, and purred, "Are you actually looking forward to it?"

"Enough!" he snapped, but his voice was cracking and clearly embarrassed. "Y-You can take the main bedroom, but quit it with the… the…"

"'The'? What?" I winked at him innocently. "Flirting? Innuendos? Words that get you… fantasizing?"

Even as he spaced out, I reverted to my true form, extending my tail and coiling it around his muscular form, the tip brushing against his clothes and elsewhere…

Then, as I breathed a puff of warm air into his ears, he was utterly defeated.

Annoyed, he waved his hand to forcefully knock me away, but he had no idea that succubi were endlessly soft—once they clung on, there was no getting them off.

Hence, he growled in embarrassment, "Get off me!"

"Shush!" I purred. "Let's do something fun."

I pressed my entire body against his, my hands caressing him everywhere.

I watched as his eyes widened helplessly, murmuring, "What the hell do you want…"

His figure was ridiculously perfect—broad shoulders, slender waist, and chiseled lines of muscle.

Just seeing him like that made me even more excited.

My thin tail coiled around his hip, leaving him shuddering but helpless.

When he tried to push my hands away, I tightened my grip.

"Don't you like this? Calm down, Morpheus…"

My lips whispered into his ears, assuring him while letting out a fiery breath on his face.

Feeling him shudder again, I pressed the advantage and licked his ears, sending him scrambling and pushing me away.

"Get away from me…" he groaned unhappily, but there was already a hint of excitement.

Hence, I kept my tail around his hip, with the tip brushing mischievously against him.

"Be a good boy now… You will feel very good."

I straddled him, pinning him down on the bed. "Oh, you're getting a little heated down there! Do you want this, baby?!"

As I leaned in to kiss his chest, my tail gently reaching down his crotch, he couldn't help moaning…

-

"Help! Someone's dead!"

The shrill scream rang through the silent manor, but I took my time, stretching my back before I threw on my sleeping robe and got out of the main bedroom.

Morpheus cast a sleeping spell on me last night as he finally had enough.

I fell asleep on top of him, and he was gone when I woke up.

I quietly headed downstairs and found the other players gathered in a cluster at the atrium, their faces as white as a sheet.

On the floor was a completely dried corpse, with nothing but skin and bones, like a mummy that had been preserved over a thousand years ago.

It was the merchant who had wished to die from natural causes.

There was clearly fear in his eyes before he died, his mouth open in a silent scream.

There was not a single strand of hair left on his scalp, and there were liver spots all over his exposed scalp.

The Prophet appeared, smiling sarcastically. "So this is how you are going to win? Doesn't look like it's working."

Everyone quickly distanced themselves away from him, their eyes filled with fear and wariness.

"How did this happen?! He wished to die from natural causes!" Julian the young mage exclaimed, his voice cracking with fear.

"Because that's just stupid," a voice with a clipped accent spoke from the stairs.

We turned to see Cassian slowly descending, every step an elegant stride.

He didn't twitch even when he saw the merchant's corpse, clearly used to death.

He even dropped to a crouch beside the merchant, poking his shriveled cheeks.

"See, natural death is fine, but did any of you ever specify when?" he asked, shooting straight to the crux of the matter. "For an immortal Entity who lives through endless ages, their entire lifespan may be just a single day for them, and night the end of a lifetime."

Elara the halfling burglar trembled right then. "Well, what should we do? We all made the same wish!"

"Don't worry." Cassian smiled assuringly as he stood up. "I've researched games like these for the longest time—the key is to interpret the true meaning of the rules and find the loophole that ensures survival.

"The merchant was the first who made a wish, and he's dead, but everyone else is fine—that means his wish only applied to him."

Everyone's eyes lit up with hope.

That was when the cool voice of the System spoke: [Side Mission assigned: Banquet of the Divine]

[All players must present an offering to the Lord of the Manor, and the one whose offering earns the Lord's favor will be given a wish. Should the offering incur the most disfavor from the Lord, the offerer will be executed on the spot.]

[The banquet commences in the evening.]

Cassian's eyes twinkled with excitement, just like a hunter that had found his prey.

Still, he said calmly, "Interesting. This is our chance at victory!"

"Chance? What chance?" Elara asked.

Cassian's voice was at once enthusiastic, "Find something the Boss likes, and we get the right to make a wish. And I shall be the one who leads everyone to victory."

Everyone's eyes lit up, suddenly regarding him as their savior.

"But how are we going to find out what he likes?" Julian asked nervously. "If we make a mistake, we would—"

"That's why we should start investigating," Cassian said, cutting him short. "The study, the atelier, the basement—we're going to have to split up and search."

He then turned toward me with a twinkle in his eye. "You're coming too. You're special, but cooperation is good for everyone."

I shrugged. "Sure. I'd like to stay alive myself."

In reality, I could laugh right then.

Against a boss as powerful as Morpheous, logic and rules weren't enough to win.

The question that should be asked was how his powers came to be, as it might be the source of his pain.

As everyone searched the manor, I deliberately trailed behind everyone, only making my move after they were gone.

After all, I needed the clues that actually mattered.