I had pulled back from Braavos after discovering that the Faceless Men were doing their best to annoy me. I disliked being manipulated, and the last test they had come up with had been... I would have words with them, preferably when I was armed to the teeth with Magic Items that would make it impossible to see as I ripped their memories out of their minds.

That said, I could not afford to storm the entire House of Black and White on my own. For one thing, Faceless Men did not really keep to their temple all that often for me to trap them in and burn them alive. Sure, it was their main base of operations and where they trained their acolytes, but the actual fully trained assassins often took missions to other cities. An attack of any type would mean missing at least one trained killer, and I would have to watch my back all the time for the knife that would eventually come.

For now, behind the recently upgraded Wards of the Keep that came with the Horse Ranch, I was stuck plotting or experimenting. I was still keeping an eye on Braavos through my familiars. I had left the ravens in Braavos while keeping the owls around me since they did not like each other, and owls had better night vision to make them better at security. I wanted answers... but I was not stupid enough to do so without arming myself to the best of my abilities.

The Wards were bound to complex Magic Circles based on the Rune Schema I had used to hide Bellonara's binding. A combination of conceptual magic that affected the mind and solid glamours along the border hid the property from being seen physically that even Wat the Eyes could not see through. The glamour itself had been a recent addition, an effect that required me to skinchange into light and bend it around the property, leaving the surrounding area stuck in a subtle fog-like distortion.

While the original method I had based the glamour off of relied on an artifact that retained an impression of the wielder, using it on an area was slightly more complex. Where people like Melisandre used a Dead Man's Boots to pull on their soul, binding it to the light to turn the visage of the wearer into the dead man's, my version did it to the land itself... removing anything built by the hands of man.

Anchoring the entire Ward Scheme into a Weirwood Tablet that held the three-headed dragon half of the dragonbone pin was almost trivial once everything was done. The Ward Achor that was based on a derivative of the wand I now held made for an excellent way to sustain said spell without me there to rely on it. I would still need to check every once in a while to ensure that the spell decay of the original intent to the more literal meaning of the runic anchor was not too severe. That being said, it was a real improvement of the new Wards, as I could spend around a week without resetting them, unlike the daily updates I needed in my first work in the House with the Red Door.

With the security issue resolved and the final stages of my plans for today already set, I was taking a well-deserved break. I watched the river on the makeshift dock I had grown from local flora, lounging on a chair I had raised from the same tree. A fishing rod in my hand while I enjoyed the morning beneath the warming charms I layered into my cloak.

Bellonara and her daughter were standing behind me in maid outfits I had them make for themselves, holding trays filled with food and drink. I had kept the two close to me, inviting them over to stay behind the magical protections to prevent more interference from the Faceless Men. Bellonara accepted an offer, thinking it better to stay on my good side, heavily encouraged by the loyalty charms she was not under as penance for her attempt to use me. I quickly disillusioned her with the idea that they were back in my favor by dismissing their servants and making them work for my every whim to earn back my favor. For a Courtesan who had servants running to her every whim, their current position would hopefully give them an idea of what I could do to them should they piss me off.

In all honesty, it was a mild punishment, making them serve as my cupbearer for all practical purposes. Of course, being the little shit, I was, I made them wear a pair of enchanted underwear based on the best bit of enchantment I had made. It kept stimulating them while preventing them from achieving release. Of course, I had made them both impossible to remove by anyone but me, so neither the mother nor daughter would think that being brought to the edge for hours was anything but punishment, with me being the only one who could spare them from it.

Throwing the fishing rod into the river for a lousy job, I decided to head back, ending the small break I took. I was not even sure if there were fish in this river... but it was worth a try.

I found Lanna waiting for me in the study for the weekly sessions, and we had to figure out a way to help her.

I was not a psychiatrist and could not pretend to be one. Physically, she was fine; mentally, she watched her mother die before being subjected to magical experiments that made no sense to me. All I could offer was a way to ensure it never happened, something that Lanna had latched onto. A bit of passive Legilimency allowed me to ensure her mental health was better than it started off as.

The sessions have been ongoing for a while now. It was a way for Lanna to cope with what had happened to her. It was a way for her to help me figure out a way to undo whatever the Alchemist had done in terms of magic. Granted, the "foul-smelling potion" did not help deconstruct what had been done to her.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her, tapping the pencil I crafted for myself on the clipboard. It was not the highest quality pencil but after all the failures crafting a wand, sticking some charcoal into a piece of wood was child's play, even before I could shape wood as though it was liquid.

"Better... the third candle... it helped more than the others; the feeling of being less was reduced after it," said Lanna, giving me the shadow of a smile. A few seconds of silence made me understand that was all I would be getting.

"And how have your lessons been going?" I asked, shifting the subject to something

"Lady Bellonara is nice but strict... and I like dancing even if Dany prefers singing," said Lanna, getting excited over something she liked to do.

Once the session was over, and Lanna had gone to do her chores, I sighed.

My dreams to increase my soul weight and ascend to godhood through bootleg Cultivation by sitting in a circle of candles had been a failure so far. I had not even managed to get it to make me better at casting magic by increasing my power.

Neither of those worked the way I wanted them to, the added soul-stuff within my body acted as a weight, but it was harder to control than using my soul to cast a spell. It was lethargic, settling into the natural order of my body. It gave my body a greater Magical Resistance, according to my latest tests, but that was about it. Combined with a slight boost to my physical growth, all I got was a body that was magically charged to be a body.

Similarly, Lanna recovered her physical health, but her soul simply could not bind with the new additions. I was not sure how it would affect her body in the long run, but I needed to figure out a ritual to give those added soul-stuff, and given her age... the one ritual I knew was not an option for another decade and something that I needed to test soon.

I had focused on improving my original recipe for a Blood Candle, with Lanna helping me test each new one. The mix of Blood, Dragonglass, and Beeswax was decent, acting as a temporary anchor for the Blood Sacrifice until it could be absorbed, the fire removing any attachments the souls had to their original bodies, but there was room for improvement.

The first addition was some Tree Resin, a recipe based on what I had noticed with Wildfire. When Wildfire burned, there was a boost to the magic that came from releasing the energy independent of the souls - something that increased the power of my spells.

During my duel with the Alchemist, after the Wildfire exploded, I had managed to cast more potent spells than I initially could, such as making the wall explode. After that, I tried demolishing other walls, finding that the effect was less effective than what I managed when I used it the first time.

If, and that was a big if, the magical energy released from the Wildfire somehow amplified the residual magical energy, which my wand allowed me to tap into... the boost to my magic could be explained easily.

That implied that Weirwood was a great way to absorb said Ambient Magical Energy for use, leading to the creation of a version of Blood Candle that I called Greater Blood Candle. Replacing Tree Resin with its magical equivalent of Weirwood Sap.

The Magical material had the expected effect of amplifying the absorption rate of the Candles. There was, however, an interesting side effect to the interaction between dragonglass and Weirwood sap, as the Weirwood Blood Candle was cold to the touch. It was not uncomfortably cold but still apparent to the naked skin. The candle was drinking in the heat, giving off a chill unlike anything else I had seen. That alone made me uncomfortable to keep the new candles around for long periods, even if I may have unlocked the base mechanics of how White Walkers worked. Given that I did not observe the exact mechanism in my wand, I could only conclude that Dragon Bone had a stabilizing effect. Stumbling into the source of White Walkers had not been what I started off with, but it was a welcome surprise.

Noting down my observations, I compared the three types of Blood Candles I had made, distinguishing them by the speed at which they could absorb heat and ambient energy.

The Lesser Blood Candles were the simplest of them, dragonglass, blood, and beeswax, the combination trapping the soul of the sacrificed animal and preserving it along with the energy their life held. They did not lose or gain any magical energy, only containing what the animal held at that moment. I could create amalgamations of multiple animals in a single candle, but I could not combine them into a single soul, keeping them separate even when absorbed.

The Medium Blood Candles were the ones that incorporated Tree Resin, the end result gaining the ability to slowly increase in potency as it absorbed more and more souls... or Nature Energy or whatever it was that it drank.

Greater Blood Candles were the ones I had made with Weirwood Sap that gave a significantly more power boost over time than the version with Tree Resin. A dozen tests had me conclude that the Greater Blood Candle absorbed seven times more energy than Medium Blood Candle managed... approximately. I was using my senses to get a feel of the increase, so I was unsure if that metric was accurate.

Having finally done the double-blind test with Lanna's help, I was sure the Weirwood version of the Blood Candle was much more effective in storing power. It also indirectly proved that magical energy and soul were separate concepts that were only loosely linked.

As it turned out, souls were like cups, holding Magical Energy, Ki, Chi, Life-Fire, whatever you wanted. Whether or not it was physical or spiritual was something that I was not sure about, only that the soul had a way of storing it, and it was what decreased over time when using magic.

My wand allowed me to tap into the Ambient Magic through the Weirwood, which was lucky. While it also allowed me to absorb some of that Magical Energy to recharge, the effect relied on my wand.

Similarly, I had lucked into throwing more Magical energy into my own body along with souls purified by fire... giving me a disposable reserve bound to my flesh that I could tap into before needing to use my own Life-Fire. It had been around the same time I had started getting some results with Wandless Magic, but the method was not efficient, nor was it on purpose. If only I could figure out a way to recharge human souls without relying on Weirwood, which was the real challenge.

There were still seven Greater Blood Candles that I could use, buried around the now-named Dragon Pit. The spilled potion strongly connected to the concept of a Dragon from my analysis scrolls, giving a similar boost to my magic when I was close to it. That suggested that it was some sort of a Well of Raw Magic, making the Weirwood Candles some kind of stop-gap to prevent excessive magic Leakage into the environment that I was already worried about.

While I was not sure if it was possible to manipulate the Magical Energy without a soul to contain or bind the energy, I was going to further experiment in the future. For now, I was going to use the source I had accidentally created as a charging port, keeping a stash of Greater Blood Candles around the area.

Throwing the pencil to the corner as Ser Willem walked in. "Trouble?" he asked.

"Is there a moment in my life that is not trouble?" I groaned, pinching my nose.

"You will figure it out, your grace," said my most loyal knight, adding a silent "you always do."

Looking at the aged man who had been guarding my back against the first day, I briefly wondered if I could somehow leverage the free soul stuff bound to the body to work with potions... to allow people loyal to be stronger.

Since the Potion Base only stood to anchor soul-stuff that made the potions magical in the first place, I could recycle the potions required by keeping them inside the consumer's body. As the drinker would already contain the unbound soul stuff in themselves, it would remove the need for using the Potion Base in the first place. Giving a sigh as I summoned back the pencil and noted the idea for future research, I diverted my attention away from the dreams of my brand of Witchers with special potions.

"Was there anything you wished to say?" I asked, looking at the old man who had been there for me through it all.

The man looked at me for a moment before smiling. "The dinner is ready... you wanted to be called."

I paused; thinking of food gave me a new idea for a last minute update for the ritual that felt like it had potential.

Noting down the idea, I headed down, chatting with Ser Willem.

The night of the full moon was upon us. A bit of skinchanging into the light of the Full moon, and I knew I could use it for the finalized ritual I had been working on. A few days of waiting had been worth it to see if I could pull on concepts bound to the Full Moon and the Analysis Scroll held under the moonlight showed some promising boost to my original spell.

As I retired to my room after dinner with Dany, I found a pleasing sight waiting for me. Bellegere was there, as was Bellonara... the mother and daughter were naked apart from their underwear, which neither could remove without my say.

While I had fooled around with both of them, and even at the same time for the last week, I had not gone the whole way with them for the simple reason that I actually discovered that the concept of virginity was, in fact, something that I could measure with magic.

While the thought of having both mother and daughter at once as I lost my virginity was pleasing... the ritual would be finicky with only one of them. For the first try of the ritual I designed, I needed to use the conceptual purity that came from the virginity of both partners for this to work as safely as possible.

A flash of red knocked out Bellonara, causing Belle to jump. A flick of my wand changed the runic binding on the mother to keep her asleep until the morning, just in case she had some ideas of interfering with the ritual I had planned. While her mind did not hold such thoughts, I would be a fool to not take precautions.

"She is just asleep," I responded, having used the Stunning Charm that I was working on. "Follow me... it is time."

Belle did as I ordered, eager and horny enough to not care where we were going so long as she achieved release. The sheer robe she put on did nothing to hide her modesty... not that it was needed with the way I had taken over the entire top floor of the keep for myself.

We were on the roof, the Winter air was cold, but I had the wooden battlements grown to counter the wind, and the magical barrier around the place trapped the heat comfortably.

"The ritual... how much of it is necessary?" asked Belle, looking at the large setup I had prepared.

"Honestly... none," I responded with a shrug. "The symbols just make it easier to control the process... and make the end result more stable instead of wasting too much energy or putting you in danger," I explained truthfully. Without all the symbols and concepts to pull from, there was a decent chance that the process would effectively power-wash her soul, leaving a husk behind.

I had thrown every limitation I could, including leveraging the connection between the full moon and the conceptual relation to `revealing` that it held. Combined with our virginity, concepts of protection and purity that the moonlight held and I had a base to work with, especially given the moon's relationship to fertility and childbirth in this world and my old one.

"Does it have to be outside? It is cold?" asked Belle; her skin was raised from the chill of the air that the wooden panels could not counter, the sheer robe she wore not doing anything to provide heat. It did make her snuggle closer for warmth, though I was not cruel enough to not give a wave of my wand to heat up the air around us to be more comfortable.

"Summerhall had a roof, and you will be warm soon," I countered, looking down, causing Belle to gulp even as she looked up to me, slowly rubbing herself against my body from the edge I had kept her in the whole day. The truth was, I was again not sure... I was just drawing on my knowledge, knowing that the Dothraki wanted to do anything important under the sky. The ritual that Dany used to hatch the eggs also happened without a roof over her head. Given that I could not predict how the flames from the candles would work, it was better to be prepared than regret it.

"That would not happen, would it... it would not burn the place down?" asked Belle, slightly nervous at the mention of the infamous fire. While a fire that could melt the very stone was possible for me to cast with the raw power I was planning on channeling through myself, I had taken the necessary precautions. Precautions included having Ser Richard and Ser Willem ready to grab Dany and run outside, should Summerhall happen.

"There is a reason I am not allowing any servants but the ones necessary... even your mother is now asleep downstairs for that reason," I stated, reaching out and feeling everything was alright. "Too many cooks spoil the stew, so to speak. Nervous?" I asked, guiding her to the desk.

"A single drop of blood on the center of the circle," I said, pointing at the white scroll made from Weirwood. On the scroll was carved a nine-pointed star with another set of smaller nine-pointed stars on each end, forming a specialized set of eighty-one glyphs tailor-made for Belle. I had used Analysis Scroll on her before, but it was just a double-check and further narrowed down the exact words I needed.

"Should I be worried that it will bind me to some promise?" teased Belle with a grin, thinking of providing blood to something that looked like a scroll. She had a vivid imagination, and the idea of binding herself to a contract to me made her more excited than uncomfortable, having understood my reluctance as a chance to tease me. She knew I was seeing her thoughts, and she seemed to be strangely comfortable with it.

"If I wanted, you would already be my puppet, do not insult me. It is just a simple spell to see what we can work with," I explained, having already used another.

I watched as Belle's blood destabilized the Magic Circle, causing specific glyphs to flare from the residual fire magic that etched the words in the first place. There were dozens since defining a person with three words was impossible. I picked the most potent three concepts, noting the glyphs that had the largest burn mark from the destabilization. The concepts her blood got were `passion,` `increase,` and `fire,` which matched what I had suspected from my observations. Belle could literally stoke the passions of someone, which was a valuable ability to have for me. As Black Pearl, she could make someone ready to go in a moment, and she unconsciously caused fires around her to increase their glow.

I could use that... I could use it really well. Not only would it allow me to get the same benefits as the opposite sex, but I could also use it in war, boosting morale, influencing people... the possibilities were endless. In terms of RPG mechanics, it would increase my charisma which was always handy.

A similar circle in the back of the scroll confirmed that Bellegere was still a virgin. It ensured I did not build the entire spell on a loose foundation. I would have to purify the added souls, and stamping them with the concept of purity from the body itself would be far more potent.

"And what is it that you want it to do?" asked Belle, looking at the design I had drawn on paper. I knew her High Valyrian was good enough for her to understand most of it. "Planning to turn me into your pet, like you did my mother?" she teased.

"You do not sound so angry at it," I responded, that she had noticed it,

"Mother made her choices; even if I told her that trying to bind you would be dangerous, she put herself and me at risk. Now that I know why she did it, I cannot be angry at her and... I am glad you are not without mercy, your grace." Belle pulled herself closer to me, "or would you prefer I call you... master," she whispered into my ear.

"I told you I don't need magic to turn you into my pet, didn't I?" I asked, giving her a smirk. I could feel her growing arousal that had been building up... she was actually enjoying the denial.

Stepping closer without breaking eye contact, I rested my palm on her cheek. Belle gulped, her eyes unable to break from mine own, and I could feel her arousal overpowering any other thought she had at the forefront of her mind.

I nodded with a smirk, knowing that her knowing this was important, mostly so she could give her consent to going through an unknown ritual with someone she barely knew. "As agreed, it will amplify your magical affinity and share it with me. It will also improve your health, make you slightly stronger, and less prone to sickness. It might even make it so you can keep up with me and not pass out," I teased, getting a look from my companion, who promised she would try her hardest too. Handing her a cup, "Now, drink this."

While she did not hold a binding like her mother, I had already done a number on her mind. An impressionable young girl being given attention by a dangerous and mighty prince, compounded by the compulsions to make her trust and rely on me... she did not stand a chance. While I disliked the path it took, the results would ensure that she would not betray me.

"What is it, some sort of potion?" asked Belle, smelling it. She was still nervous, and I could understand why.

"It is wine... for your nerves, I can feel it distracting you," I said, watching Belle gulp down half the goblet before draining the rest. Once the goblet was empty, I threw it to the side, guiding us to the middle of the large ritual circle in the middle of the roof with three concentric circles.

The outer circle was made from a rope infused with small branches of Weirwood and Nightwood and salt water to keep everything within separate from the outside, supported by three different amulets with runes of `repulsion,` `isolation,` and `protection` on them that build up on the natural properties of the rope. It was overkill to keep what was relevant to the ritual inside while keeping out everything that was not needed on the outside, but one could not be too cautious. The idea was meant to ensure that if anyone was watching, they could not see inside the circle, and if the Seven had any power, their influence would be of no use. That was not to include the other protections on the keep itself.

Between the outermost and the middle circles were glyphs and words that I had carved into planks of wood with my wand, each enchanted to keep everything stable and prevent any outside influence.

The middle circle was made up of a line of salt, molten, and merged into a single solid crystal through spellfire. Subtle glyphs were carved into the inside of the crystal that took me a day to make. The purifying nature of salt made skinchanging through a line of it really hard, which explained the limits to my vision when I tried to peak into Westeros. Taking it to its extreme, combining the salt to a single crystal made a similar feat impossible, even when I used my wand to amplify my power, thus preventing anyone from outside from interfering with the magic within once more.

The inner circle was, in fact, the circle that was meant to provide power for the ritual. The primary purpose was to supply the additional soul-stuff and magical energy. While I could go for a more straightforward method that was much safer, I got a strong feeling that using the Tantric Ritual to bind more soul-stuff than usually used was possible... pulling them from the seven specially-made Greater Blood Candles for this purpose.

The circle itself was made from a thin solid plank of Weirwood - that I managed to transform into shape by stretching out a large slab I could buy- before I etched the Magic Circle with spellfire, one that would combine and stabilize the soul-stuff for my use.

Just within the border were seven small circles that held black colored candles. The Weirwood Blood Candles would provide the additional soul-stuff and Magical energy that I would be binding into the generated Tantric Energy and increase the total souls of both participants. The entire Power Circle was meant to ensure cohesion between all seven candles, a buffer to keep a continuous flow that combined all seven candles at once.

The circles that held the candles were connected by a Seven-Pointed Star, etched onto the remaining surface of the Weirwood. Each point of the heptagram ended in the center of the circle that held a Blood Candle. The lines acting not unlike a riverbed- combining all seven souls- before channeling them to the center for me to pull on, the Weirwood purifying the soul-stuff further and giving them the properties of the Weirwood itself.

In the books, Bran was given a paste of Weirwood. I was not sure of the contents, but given that a Weirwood was growing out of Bloodraven's eye socket... it was some sort of a way to make new Heart Trees. Once the greenseer died, they would be buried, and out of their grave would sprout the Heart-tree for future use, binding their soul and power to the tree.

I was not going to consume something that might one day spout a tree through me. I was, however, going to gain that Magical Absorption property of the Weirwood. The Weirwood Ritual Circle and the Weirwood Sap-infused candles were meant for that specific reason.

I chose seven for multiple reasons. First was the effect I felt in the miniature heptagram I had carved on one of the rune plates. While there was no 'meaning' to the seven-pointed star, the soul bound to the piece of wood was far more... calm, I supposed would be the best word. My meta-knowledge had seven as the most magical number, which would explain the stability of the configuration. Given that seven was a prime number and, therefore, indivisible, I reasoned that it would be the perfect number to combine multiple things. Using the added Soul-stuff and Magical Energy held by that soul-stuff, a bastardized inversion of what Voldemort had done to rip his soul apart, instead combining seven souls before flowing them toward my own as a single. The Seven-to-One combination was just too poetic for me to not use... even if it might offend a god... even if they managed to see into what I was doing.

"Is that it then? Not really the most romantic setting, though the full moon is pretty. Does it have anything to do with the ritual?" asked Belle as we both stood at the center. A flash of flames left us naked, burning off every bit of clothing. Lastly, I held my wand in my palm, slowly levitating it to stand outside the circle where I could reach for it if needed.

"Maybe," I responded, "why don't we put your mouth to better use?" I asked, pushing her to her knees.

Taking me in her throat, she started bobbing up and down. I could see her hand moving to her crotch, not that the enchanted underwear was gone, bringing herself to the edge and over it instantly. Timing it correctly, I pushed my hips forward, coming down her throat simultaneously as the seven candles around us ignited with a cursory thought, starting the ritual.

The initial Tantric Energy was something I needed for the actual ritual circle that was not part of the Power Circle on the floor. Making sure to support Bellegere from falling back once she released my cock, I kneeled, pulling her to my lap.

Holding my hand, I watched as the candle smoke converged over my palm. While there were multiple ways of doing this, this was the most effective. I could create the Ritual Circle with a potion, but that would be superficial; I could use my wand, but the gains would be linked to my wand. While I could have carved the Magic Circle onto flesh, that would not have been well received, and I could not fix any incorrect strokes. Not to mention scarring a beauty like Bellenora would be a shame, not to say that Ritual Scarification was done in despair, and I was not that desperate.

Instead, I used Wandless Shadowbinding to form a spell circle that would anchor everything for a short while before I could remove it. I created a Magic Circle over Belle's womb in a similar method as I had used to place the binding on her mother. Unlike the Black Pearl, however, her daughter got a more complex circle that would hold and slowly allow her to absorb the Tantric Magic instead of only binding her to my will.

First came two concentric circles. The outer circle was filled with purification runes, binding it to the concept of virginity that I could detect with the help of a specialized Analysis Scroll. Reaching out to the moonlight, I also felt the conceptual purity within the full moon's light, using it as a reference to layer the enchantment.

For Belle, inside the central circle went a diamond shape, with a horizontal line splitting the circle and the diamond in two, creating two triangles with a shared edge.

A horizontal line split the diamond in half, the top side holding the symbol for male in its center and the bottom containing the character for female, defining the parts each of us will be playing. The resulting two triangles that shared an edge represented the physical union and a symbolic hierarchy between us... one that was meant to make it impossible for her to even try to control me.

In an ideal world, that line would have been vertical... a sharing of equals, but I ran out of all my goodwill. It would still serve the same purpose, but the inherent symbolism would amplify Belle's submissiveness to me. I had to pull on my Mind Arts to center myself, not to be distracted by the potential of filling her womb with souls containing the ability to absorb the life energy from the Weirwood. On its own, it was not much, but making her submissive at the same time... I was making myself a pet succubus for all practical purposes.

In the top triangle, I placed the glyphs for `soul,` `power,` and `strength` on each edge, power being the one closest to the lower triangle. For Belle, I traced the glyphs I got from the analysis spell, `passion,` `increase,` and `fire` at the edges of a triangle, allowing for an exchange between the two sides.

Binding everything to the Tantric Energy formed from mixing both energies was simple and something I experienced.

"This looks more elaborate than the spells other would-be wizards cast. I heard Warlocks who made people bathe in the blood of animals," said Belle, making me snort.

"None of them actually know what they are doing," I explained, wanting to show off a bit. I knew Belle asked it out of genuine curiosity instead of making me feel better, so I decided to show off a bit. "Trying things they read about without thinking through does not allow for magic. A few Sorcerers are lucky, as they instinctively do what is needed... but those who actually understand it... they would not share what they do."

"But you are not like them, are you, your grace?" Belle asked, squirming as I pinched her clit, causing her to moan and writhe on my lap.

As the last step, I added a more unadorned circle over my stomach, using the same process as the outer circle holding purification. In contrast, the inner one held a simple spiral inside the circle ending at my navel. While I could have gone for something more elaborate, I needed a temporary anchor to store my share of the mixed Tantric Energy. Once the ritual was through, I could absorb it on my own terms, like some budget cultivator doing dual cultivation. The Uzumaki Swirl, as I could best describe it, worked as best as any other symbol to store the energy since it had already taken on the properties of what I needed from Belle. I would work to use it to also amplify my own Magical Affinities.

With the most complicated part done, I moved us so Belle straddled me.

"Comfy?" I asked Belle, her face right in front of me. She simply gave the nod before starting to slowly grind against my length, clearly eager for more. "Whenever you are ready, let me know," I said as Belle nodded, picking up some rhythm as her lips found my own.

Lacing my fingers through her hair, I pulled her head back, allowing me access to her neck, and the air filled with her moans. My lips descended to her breasts, causing more and more cries of pleasure from the beauty on my lap as her undercarriage rubbed against my length.

After what felt like an eternity, I felt her resolve strengthen before she moved just a bit higher, breaking the kiss as her hand guided my tip to rest on her lower lips.

"More," she said, looking me in the eyes, begging me. I pushed my soul into the Ritual Circle below me, grabbing and pulling the added souls that saturated the magic circle into my body as I lifted Belle up.

Lining up the tip of my cock to her entrance, I let Belle sink down my cock.

I knew where to look for, as the Ritual Circle's conceptual purity resonated with virginity's metaphysical weight. The latter concept also shifted once I was in Belle, almost peeling away from our bodies simultaneously. For a moment, my mind was flooded with an understanding of purity and purification regarding the human body. Holding onto that idea allowed me to impose the concept upon all the additional soul-stuff I was connected to at that moment, leaving them clean and ready to take on properties from either myself or Belle.

While I was busy metaphysically changing the nature of souls, I let Belle set the pace, slowly moving up and down as she adjusted to the new sensations.

As Belle picked up the pace, I joined in as well, my hips moving up to meet hers and my hands holding her hips and pulling her down. It did not take long for us to reach our limit, as I released into her virgin womb, feeling all the combined soul-stuff leave my body at once.

Little Death was not named so inaccurately, and I got a new appreciation for the term as I felt my soul move out of my body before slowly returning to my flesh after hitting a metaphysical wall formed with the Ritual Circle over Belle's womb. In that instance, I understood what was required to bind my will to hers or her will to mine. I also knew how to overpower such a process, which would cost ripping the soul from Belle's body.

Once I came to, I felt the energy settle, the mixture of Tantric Energy amplified by the Souls and extra Magical Energy from the Candles stored in her womb.

I could feel my connection to the Tantric Energy, too raw for life but holding the potential for a new soul to be formed in time if there was an anchor. It was the energy that would form the souls, pure creation that would bind itself to the fertilized egg to create a new life... or it could be attached to an existing soul and make it grow stronger.

"Is that it, then?" asked Belle, grinding her hips against me, feeling myself get harder with her each move. Placing a hand over her womb, I ensured that the raw Magical Energy did not prove itself harmful before filtering all of it through the circle over Belle's womb, lacing it with the concepts that matched Belle. Once the concepts within the soul-stuff were close enough to Belle's own, I felt her body take over the changes and apply them in a way I could not artificially do.

Reaching out to the link and pulling it, I took on a decent chunk of the generated Tantric Energy into the circle on my stomach, taking what I judged to be much more than half. I stopped once I got a feeling of a warning regarding the inherent `balance` of the exchange. Letting the rest of the energy be bound to Belle instead, I modified her Magic Circle to slowly bind everything to her soul.

"Right... the candles have enough juice for another six rounds or so," I noted with a side glance, causing Belle's eyes to widen before a grin formed. Giving a slap to her rear, I added, "Why don't I take over this time," flipping us over and pumping into her. I did not have to sit on the floor, as my legs provided enough physical contact to access the rest of the magical energy.

Soon moans and grunts filled the air. It was a long night, to say the least.