“Are you sure about this?” Van asked worriedly for about the hundredth time.

“Yes Van, I am,” Luna replied somewhat testily. Annoyed about having to repeat herself so many times.

“Sorry. It's just. I don’t think we have to do this. Getting a soul link is dangerous. The only reason why it worked out so well, was because me and Anna were blood bonded and she made that ridiculous oath. Otherwise, so much could have gone wrong, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” Van tried to explain.

“Hey! I meant every word I said back then. And I still do today!” Anna interjected. “And don’t drag me into this!”

“And we're already here. I’m not about to get cold feet now!” Luna added.

“I just think you should think about it some more,” Van said.

“I already thought about it for two months! Most of which was waiting for you to agree!” tears started to form on the rims of her eyes. “Do you really not want to be linked with me that badly?” Luna asked a little hurt by Van’s constant refusals.

“We are linked... through marriage. Nothing can take that away from us. I just don’t think we should risk ourselves in the hopes of something slightly more.” Van tried to console.

“I’m sorry Van… but I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to do this. Otherwise… I want a divorce!” Luna said, sounding like she meant it.

Van paled. “You can’t mean that, it’s just a stupid ritual! There's no reason for you to divorce over that, is there?”

“If its just a ‘stupid ritual’. Then why are you so against it?” Luna quoted back. “I’m not leaving here until we're linked, and that's final!”

“Is this seriously our first fight as a married couple? I understand why she may want to do this, but as I have grown older, wiser, and more knowledgeable. I have realized how big of a risk, my father and Lorenzo were taking when they did it the first time.” Van sighed. “But… I suppose we have improved since then, and honestly speaking, it's probably safer now than ever.” he looked at Luna. “I just don’t want her to be hurt.”

“Alright Luna. You win. We will go through the ritual. I’m sure, considering how much my soul realm has strengthened and no doubt how much Lorenzo’s skill has improved over the years, that It might not be as dangerous as it once was. So… I’m willing to take the chance if you are.” Van said, in a slightly defeated voice.

The smile Luna gave could have lighted up the night. She ran and gave Van a big hug. “Thank you! You’ll see, with this we will be together forever!” she said, giddy.

Van smiled kindly and hugged her back and looked up to Lorenzo and his father near the pedestal. Their expressions were one where if they had popcorn, they would be eating right now as they enjoyed the drama that was playing out. “You have improved, right?” Van asked Lorenzo.

Lorenzo grinned. “Of course I have improved! Don’t you worry. It would go even smoother than the last time you went through it.” he then started ordering them around and had them take their places.

“Are you two ready? You might feel a prick in your soul realm, followed by a sense of vertigo once we begin. It's important that neither of you rejects the process otherwise things could go bad. I’ve made some improvements to the circle that I think will help with the dizziness and a breaker that, should anything go wrong, can make it so that we can terminate the ritual before anyone gets seriously hurt.” Lorenzo finished somewhat proudly.

Van was impressed. It was a great improvement over the first one he took so many years ago.

“Now before we begin. Luna, is there any oaths you would like to say?” Lorenzo asked.

Luan turned to her friend who was watching. “Actually… Can we do a blood binding ritual first? I hear it improves our chances.”

Lorenzo blinked, then smiled. “Don’t worry about that. Your marriage acts somewhat the same way, just a little different.”

“Okay… then...I…” she took a deep breath “I, Luna, do swear to obey and protect my master, and husband. To have no other than him, to give mind, body, and soul, to his needs. To offer my life in exchange for his own. My heart in exchange for his happiness. So do I swear on my blood, so do swear on my soul. Now and forever, and in every life.”

“Everyone was shocked. Not only was it a powerful oath, but it was almost word for word the same as Anna’s”

“Luna… are you sure?” Alvaroz asked uncertainly.

Luna nodded and said nothing more. Only looking straight at Van with determination.

“Okay then… here we go!” Lorenzo then pressed a few things and the magic circle began to glow. Van and Luna felt a prick inside themselves, followed by a sense of lightheadedness and confusion. And just as quickly as it began, it was over.

It happened so quickly, Van still wasn’t able to get over his shock before it ended. “Are you crazy!?” he yelled, once he got over the dizziness. “Why would you do that?”

“Simple. I love you, and I want to be with you forever. For me, it was a no brainer.” Luna replied, trying to act calmly while trying to shake the dizziness out of her at the same time.

“But… I… you!” Van was at a loss for words. The greater the oath, the more powerful it is. And she just made a big one. As big as Anna’s when she first made her’s.

“It's over Van.” Luna said. “You can’t undo it.”

For the first time ever. Van was genuinely angry at Luna, so much so, Luna winced when she felt the anger through their new link. He then tried to rein it in and relax, taking a deep breath before letting it out. “Okay. fine. I suppose what's done is done. But this isn’t over. Understand?”

Luna nodded, a little sad that Van wasn’t as happy for the ritual as she was. Everyone looked away awkwardly.

With that Van left, and everyone else went their separate ways. He needed some time alone to think. He wasn’t as angry as he showed. But he was a little hurt. Slowly he made his way to the castle balcony to take a look from a high place, which always calmed him down somewhat “That kind of oath… she is more a slave to me now than a wife… so why did she do it?” he shook his head trying to understand why when a hand came onto his shoulder. He looked and found that it was his father.

“She did it because she loves you,” Alvaroz said simply as if reading Van’s thoughts.

Van turned surprised then looked away. “Why is it that I'm the bad one for not liking it? It’s not what I wanted.”

Alvaroz shrugged. “She is a woman. Women do these kinds of things. You forget it's a woman's duty to protect men in need. Save them from burning buildings or being trapped in towers. There are hundreds of stories about saving the prince in distress. Knightly women coming to the rescue, swearing oaths, slaying monsters… maybe she figured, if she made a great and powerful oath, you would think more highly of her…or perhaps it had something to do with her honor and pride as a woman.”

“But now she is like a slave to me!” Van said, annoyed. “Or at least, technically speaking. I wanted her as my wife, not as my subordinate! Maybe… maybe, I'm still slightly influenced by my past lives, but… marriage, love, it goes both ways. No one should be higher than the other, they should be equal…”

Alvaroz thought about that. “That is an interesting point of view. But… in this society, it's usually the women that rule the family, and men regulated to being breeders or someone to tie other families to. Perhaps it is true in other worlds where things are more equal. But here, there always has to be someone at the top.”

The two then talked for a few hours about the world and what's right and what wrong, Alvaroz being very understanding and generally just enjoying each other's company. Van felt like he was finally able to relax, and thinking about it, he realized he overreacted just a tad.

Alvaroz then looked down at his son gently. “She made that oath because she trusts you with her very soul. She believes in you. And as the head of the family. It's your responsibility to answer and meet those expectations. So... try not to hate her for it.”

Van sighed. “I don’t hate her… I can’t hate her… I love her too much for that… but I suppose your right. I should apologize.”

With that, they left so that Van could apologize to Luna. after meeting, and telling Luna what was on his mind, and how much he just really cared for her. They made up. Luna was in tears with how happy she was to know she wasn't hated.

“I could never hate you,” Van said bring Luna in closer. Luna squeezed him back hard. And then got on her toes and tried to go in for a kiss that Van had to lean down for her.

After a passionate kiss, they parted. And Luna was happy again. Which made Van happy. Which meant all was right in the world. After that, they went to have lunch and enjoyed the rest of the day together.

One passionate night later and it was morning. But when they went for breakfast, they were surprised to find that no food was laid out for them.

“Sorry kiddo's,” Thea said, surprising them from behind. “For today's training, it's best you not eat anything. Now follow me… you too Luna.” she said that last part reluctantly as if she didn’t want Luna to join in just yet.

With that, Luna, Van, and Anna, followed Thea into the training yard. Where a hobgoblin was waiting for them alongside Alvaroz.

“Today we will be learning about mana eating. Or mana feeding as some might call it.” Thea began. “Mana eating is the ability to consume mana in place of food. Something that goblins and hobgoblins are naturally able to do at birth, which is why we brought one here with us today to help give pointers.” she pointed at a hobgoblin that was standing nearby. The hobgoblin waived cheerfully.

“This is an extremely hard skill to master, but if you were able to learn it. You would be able to go for days without needing to eat or drink. Though it is mostly used to lessen how much you would normally consume a day. And going without food completely is only for extreme situations.” Thea said with a shudder as if the mere idea of going without food for days was a nightmare. “Combined with the ability to hold one's breath, you can hold it even longer with this skill, essentially making it so that you, with these two skills, are immune to what most mortals are weak to. The need to eat, breathe, and soon, sleep. And maybe even more.”

“The first step in learning how to mana eat is similar to how one learns to cultivate mana, so learning this will help you later when Lore starts teaching you about that. Now you have all been learning how to meditate for years, mostly for one reason or another. we will have you use what you have learned meditating and make you more aware of your natural mana pool and how to manipulate it.”

“The first step is to change into your bathing suits and give me twenty laps. I want you all nice and hungry from the work out.” and with that, Thea sent them off to change.

Returning, they set off for the pool and did twenty laps and then a bunch of other exercises to tire themselves out. They worked for hours until it was near lunchtime, all the while Thea was also reminding them on how to breathe and be more aware of their bodies movements. After an exhausting workout session, they collapsed on their backs.

“Good, good! Now that you are all tired.” Thea said with an evil grin and her arms crossed. “it's time to learn about mana eating! Don’t worry about not getting it the first time, I'm not expecting you to get it on the first day after all.”

Thea then had them sit cross-legged and had them close their eyes. “You all should be able to sense mana by now, yes? And I know you all can cast simple cantrips. Learning how to manipulate your mana is the first step for… well… everything! Now I want you to feel your stomach, how hungry it is… use your senses to feel how your body nourishes itself, how the energy flows throughout your body. All you have to do… is feed it a different type of energy! Of course, it will not be as effective or cost-effective for that matter, but it's better than nothing!”

Van’s eyes opened wide as realization struck him. “Wait… she means…” Van thought back to when he was being raped, how he used some of his aura to compensate for his body being drained. He closed his eyes and reached out for his mana, it was a little different from his aura, but with some finagling, he was able to do it somewhat to how he did it last time.

Thea was continuing to explain when she sensed a shift in Van and paused in disbelief. Looking down to get a better look, she couldn’t believe what she saw. “He got it already!?”

“Van… how did you…?” she began to ask, unsure how to word her question.

Van opened his eyes and explained how, impart thanks to her training in how to keep a calm mind. When he was being raped by Karen, he tried to use aura to fight back, but then couldn’t anymore and was forced fed eros. After that, he was desperate and tried to figure out another way to use his aura to save himself. And figured, maybe he could use his aura to compensate for his body being drained.

Thea was silent. “To so easily be able to switch and manipulate the energies. I heard incubi and succubi are masters at manipulating energy, and that their skill was such that they could completely forgo eating anything for weeks and months. But I didn’t think it was true. Or maybe being in a life and death situation forced him to grow? Perhaps a combination of the two?”

“Thea?” Van asked as he saw her take a faraway look.

“Huh? Oh, right… you can leave early for lunch, you don’t need to come by to learn this skill anymore.” she then gave a smile. “I’m also glad to hear my training was helpful once again.”

“Yes, thank you very much. I don’t know what would have happened to me if not for your training.” Van honestly said.

Thea stuck her chest out in pride and looked very pleased with herself. “Yes, well, this is what happens when you listen to me! You should do everything I say without complaint from now on!”

“Within reason,” Alvaroz interjected. Which earned him a pout from Thea.

“Alright then, thank you for the lesson,” Van said, getting up and waving goodbye. “I’m going to get changed and have lunch.” and with that he left, leaving Luna and Anna with a thoughtful expression as if giving them an idea.

“That was easier than I thought it would be. Thought probably more to do with luck than actually learning it properly. Still, that is one less chore to do, I'm glad Thea was distracted by something and I was able to sneak away, otherwise, I would have probably been forced to do another twenty laps.” Van thought as he made his way to the castle.

Once Van was gone, the group got back to work, with the hobgoblin helping out giving pointers to the girls who were learning surprisingly fast. So fast that Thea was genuinely wondering if this was going to be one less fun thing to teach sooner than she expected.

“Van I can somewhat get… but Luna and Anna are also learning absurdly fast. How!?” Thea thought as she stared at the two in disbelief.

Luna was able to more easily learn how to do it because of her teachings with Lillia on learning how to manipulate mana and use magic. Not to mention, she always felt it was easier for her to learn magic than anything physical.

As for Anna, right now her other twelve bodies inside Van were also practicing, trying to learn the skill as quickly as possible, despite not being normally good at magic or manipulating mana.

The session ended with the both of them being weeks if not months ahead in the learning of mana eating without Thea really having to do anything. Especially because the hobgoblin she asked to join was giving out pointers better than she could and quicker too. Making her feel a bit useless.

She then gave a hurt look towards Alvaroz, as if asking him to somehow fix this so she could go back to teaching them.

Alvaroz just chuckled. “Kids grow up so fast these days, am I right? Or perhaps that's just how great of a teacher you are?”

Thea thought about that and nodded. Coming to the obvious conclusion that she really was, just that amazing.