Nyissa felt as if time got frozen and had no idea why she was unable to muster any strength in her body.

All she could feel was the warmth of his lips and his touch permeating through her entire body, making her feel dizzy.

She never knew kissing someone could have this kind of intoxicating effect on her soul and body.

But the next moment, she regained clarity and pushed away Viktor like a scared kitten. Her face was flushed red, and she was glaring at Viktor as if he committed some kind of grave sin by stealing her first kiss.

"You...are an evil man.." Nyissa mumbled petulantly and stormed off, feeling that she couldn't face him at this moment. She could still feel her lips burning from his touch and wondered why this man was able to charm her like this. She couldn't believe her centuries of training her willpower would falter so easily.

Viktor chuckled in amusement and called out, "Hey, wait! I am sorry. Don't be upset," However, seeing her reaction, Viktor knew that she wasn't really angry at him. That was all he needed to know.

The two soon descended down the hill and saw many camps being set up. Viktor could easily sense many unconscious men and women he speculated as the tourists who got petrified before.

historical

Nyissa's people were relieved and excited to see their young mistress being safe and well. They all had been worried, sick, and anxious since it had been almost a day since Nyissa didn't come back.

However, the patriarch reassured them that Nyissa was no ordinary woman and that she would return safely. But nobody knew how much the patriarch was worried himself to the point that he was going to take desperate measures.

Since Nyissa was immediately informed about her return to her people, everyone, including the patriarch, was able to rest easy.

Nyissa immediately guided him to where Brad was resting, and Viktor was relieved when he saw an unconscious Brad having the best sleep of his life.

Seeing how happy Brad seemed in his sleep, Viktor let out a sigh of relief and chuckled, thinking that Brad had a very good dream which was surprising considering how he was visiting a haunted place not long ago.

"Master!" Ayana's eyes lit up upon spotting her Master and Viktor and immediately rushed towards them. Her eyes were swollen, and Viktor could easily guess that this girl was bawling her eyes out for her Master after realizing that Nyissa purposefully let them exit the Naraka Bridge first so that she could stay behind.

The amount of guilt and shame Ayana felt was something understandable for Viktor. After all, he could see that this girl pretty much idolized Nyissa.

"Ayana.." Nyissa felt a bit guilty, seeing that Ayana must have really felt bad because of what she did, and gently said, "Ayana...I hope you understand why I wanted you all to leave. For me, the safety of my people comes first."

Ayana immediately bowed and said emotionally, "O-Of course, Master. I know you did to save us b-but...I felt like I abandoned you. Even though...I know I could not have been of help...I just felt like I failed you..I promise to become stronger and fight alongside you, Master!"

Ayana was happy and glad to see that her Master came back safe, and that was the only thing she cared about. She then gave a subtle glance in Viktor's direction, thinking that this guy returning was a given since there was no way he could die that easily.

Nyissa softly smiled, seeing that this event only made Ayana more determined and motivated to become stronger and couldn't be more proud of her, "I will wait for that day then, Ayana."

The two then exchanged words, especially Nyissa, as she gave a brief recounting of what happened while hiding certain details since she felt that now was not the time to talk about it, especially since it involved controversial things revolving around her grandfather, her grandaunt, and of course, Viktor.

Such things could only be revealed gradually to her own clan, especially through her father.

Seeing how Ayana made a promise to become stronger to not be a burden to her Master, Viktor suddenly remembered how Azu made a promise to not let Eli fight alone. He already remembered the amount of regret, shame, and worry Azu felt because of being helpless to help Eli.

Viktor, since the inception of his life in this world, was already strong and powerful beyond any ordinary human and never understood how it feels to be weak or how helpless one would feel when they are too weak to help the people they care about.

Only after seeing and experiencing events through Azu was he able to relate to how Ayana was feeling.

'So even I was weak once, huh?...Eli...Tara...where are you two now? What happened in my past exactly...What caused me to lose my memories...' Viktor felt that he could get all his answers if he could find Eli or Tara. But finding them seemed even more difficult since he had no idea where to look for them.

He could sense that the empty feeling in his heart only became even more apparent after knowing about the existence of these two girls. For some reason, he was feeling a burning urge in his heart to see them again and an indescribable pain.

He was finally able to get a glimpse of his obscure past after seeking it for centuries. But he had no idea how to get more than just a glimpse.

He decided to ask Nyissa later about the things he saw and see if she could find something from their records.

He finally found breadcrumbs that led to his past, but sadly they weren't enough to fully unearth his past. In fact, the things he saw only made his head fill with even more questions.

"Viktor? I guess I must not be surprised to see you make it out. Hmph, I am sure my Master saved you," Ayana said smugly, though she didn't forget how insanely powerful Viktor could be. But Ayana could never let any chance to praise her Master slip by. She knew Viktor didn't remember what happened or have any idea about his true power.

Viktor didn't deny anything, but instead, he put his arm around a startled Nyissa and leaned her against him, much to Ayana's shock as he said, "Of course...isn't it natural that my fiance saved my life?"

"Viktor!" Nyissa's cheeks became beet red as she slipped out of his grip and gave him a petulant glare for embarrassing her before her disciple and her people.

"F-Fiance?...M-Master...why is he joking like this?" Ayana then looked at Viktor and said firmly, "Viktor, you can't bully my Master like this. You could get punished for touching her like that!"

However, Ayana felt that something was off when she realized that her Master was not even retaliating and only shot a glare towards Viktor for hugging her like that.

She was sure her Master would have crippled any man who was brazen enough to do that, considering he had the ability to get close to her first.

But this strange atmosphere between the two...why did it seem like these two were acting like....lovers with Nyissa being the shy one and Viktor the domineering one?