Ruler of Heat: One Man, A Thousand Thirsts-Chapter 25: Eclipse on the Horizon [18+]

The wind had changed.

Rivan stood atop the highest balcony of the Temple of Veyra, feeling it—an unnatural chill carried across the fields. The sun still shone, but it felt hollow, as if some unseen mouth was swallowing the heat one breath at a time.

[System Warning: Ambient Energy Disruption Detected | Source: Unknown | Estimated Arrival: 36 Hours]

Below him, the Temple grounds buzzed with life.

Saelra and Seraxa trained new Flameborn converts, their bodies slick with sweat and flame-threaded energy.

Kaela drilled small units near the courtyard, her sharp voice cutting the air with authority.

Ceyra moved through the shadows, now reborn as a sentinel, her presence a silent shield over the Temple.

And Queen Selyra? She sat in council with the converted Crimson nobles, weaving new governance from silk, sweat, and moans.

Everything they had built...

Everything they had bled for...

It all now rested on a flame.

And something in the horizon wanted to snuff it out.

Nightfall – The Gathering Flame

The council room glowed under the twin moons, their red light filtering through stained glass.

Rivan sat at the head of a low table, surrounded by the strongest women he had bound.

They spoke little.

The air was heavy with tension—and something else.

Fear.

Saelra broke the silence first.

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"A darkness stirs in the marshlands. Older than the Flameborn line. Older than the Crimson Sect itself."

Kaela leaned forward. "The scouts report shrines blackened by void energy. Entire villages gone silent."

Lyssha, once the Queen's Blade, added, "Some say the Blackroot Cult has returned."

Seraxa scoffed. "Fairy tales. Old witches crying into wine."

"No," Selyra said softly. "It's real. I saw it once when I was a girl. Before I ever ruled."

All eyes turned to her.

She swallowed.

"They worship what sleeps beneath the earth. They call it the Eclipse Caller. And when it wakes, it doesn't seduce. It consumes."

[System Intelligence Log – Eclipse Caller: Classified Threat | Known Powers: Lust Corruption, Flame Suppression, Memory Erasure]

Rivan's jaw tightened.

"Then we move first."

Later – In Rivan's Quarters

Rivan stood alone, staring into the fire.

He felt Saelra approach before he heard her.

She pressed against his back, her warmth grounding him.

"You're scared," she said.

"I'm ready," he replied.

She smiled sadly. "Same thing. Different mask."

He turned, facing her fully.

She wore nothing but a thin veil over her breasts, her skin shimmering with sacred oils.

"If tomorrow brings darkness," she whispered, "let tonight remind you why you fight."

He pulled her into his arms.

And let himself burn.

[System Notice: Emotional Core Reinforcement in Progress – Flame Stability +5%]

At first light, Rivan gathered a handpicked squad.

Not the full force of the Flameborn.

Just enough.

Enough to move swift.

Enough to strike first.

[Squad Composition – Selected Units: Saelra (Oracle), Ceyra (Sentinel), Myra (Shield Maiden), Kaela (Vanguard), Lyssha (Blade of Crimson), Two Converted Scouts (Flame-Touched)]

Their objective was simple:

Investigate the marshes. Find the source of the corruption. Destroy it if possible. Retreat if not.

But Rivan knew.

Something was already wrong.

The moment they entered the fog-laden marshes, the world changed.

The light dimmed.

The air thickened.

And voices whispered just beyond hearing.

[System Warning: Psychological Contamination Field Detected | LustCore Shield Active]

Ceyra moved ahead in the mist, dual daggers drawn.

Kaela flanked left, eyes scanning for movement.

Myra guarded the rear, shield raised.

Lyssha stayed close to Rivan, her blade dripping a faint crimson light, reacting to the corrupted energy.

The scouts? They hesitated.

One stumbled.

Rivan caught her.

Her skin burned hot.

Her eyes glazed.

She whispered, "He calls..."

And then her body convulsed.

She screamed.

A sound of pure orgasm and agony.

[Flame Thread Severed – Scout 1: Corrupted]

Before anyone could react, the scout's body twisted unnaturally—bones cracking, skin darkening. Her form grew monstrous, her hands turning into claws, her lips peeling back into a twisted grin.

She lunged for Saelra.

Rivan moved faster.

One slash of pure Flameborn energy burned the corrupted scout to ash.

But the message was clear:

The Eclipse Caller wasn't just attacking.

It was infecting.

And worse?

The other scout still standing behind Kaela was trembling.

And smiling.

Later – Makeshift Camp

They found shelter in a ruined shrine overgrown with moss and bone.

Rivan ordered double watches.

No one slept.

Everyone eyed each other.

Because somewhere among them...

Someone else had already cracked.

[System Alert: Infiltration Probability – 78%]

Night cloaked the marsh.

Fog rolled like living fingers between the crumbling shrine stones. Rivan sat near the fire, sharpening his blade, while the others pretended to sleep with weapons in hand.

The second scout—Jessa—approached him.

Too quietly.

Too sweetly.

[System Alert: Anomaly Detected – Hormonal Spike Inconsistent with Standard Flameborn Emotion]

She knelt before him, her tunic falling open enough to reveal bare skin beneath. Her breasts, full and trembling, glowed in the firelight.

"You saved me today," she whispered, voice honey-slick.

Rivan said nothing.

She leaned closer.

Her breath was laced with something—something wrong.

"Let me thank you," she purred.

And kissed him.

[System Countermeasure: LustCore Shield Activated]

The moment her lips touched his, his system surged in defense.

Heat rippled outward, burning the false pleasure coiling around him.

She gasped, pulling back, eyes flashing black for a moment before returning to fake innocence.

But it was too late.

Rivan grabbed her throat.

Hard enough to lift her to her toes.

Her smile cracked.

"You're not Jessa," he growled.

[System Confirmed: Body Hijack Detected – Entity Type: Eclipse Spawn | Objective: Core Corruption]

The others stirred—Saelra first, her flame aura snapping awake.

Ceyra drew her blade.

Kaela shouted, "It's not human!"

The thing that wore Jessa's skin twisted, hissing, trying to seduce even while strangled.

Rivan didn't hesitate.

He unleashed a concentrated burst of LustCore energy.

Pure.

Uncorrupted.

The creature shrieked as its body disintegrated into black ash.

Silence fell.

Ash drifted through the ruined shrine like snow.

Rivan turned to his squad.

"No more trust," he said. "Only flame."

[Squad Status: Stabilized | Fear Level: High | Loyalty Level: Strengthened]

They all nodded.

But Saelra's gaze lingered on the horizon.

"This wasn't their true weapon," she whispered.

"It was only their kiss."

The marshland thickened the deeper they pushed.

Vines gripped their ankles. Fog clawed their lungs. Whispers slithered across their skin.

Yet Rivan moved forward, LustCore burning bright inside him.

The squad followed, tense but determined.

Hours later, they found it.

The temple.

A monument of bone and blackstone, half-sunken into the swamp. Obscene carvings covered its surface—twisted bodies locked in acts of pleasure and pain, faces stretched into silent screams.

[System Alert: Zone Identified – Blackroot Cult Primary Ritual Site]

Rivan approached the massive doors. They were alive—breathing slowly, as if made of flesh stretched across bone.

Ceyra gagged quietly behind him.

"This place... it's wrong," Saelra murmured, clutching her flame charm.

Rivan nodded.

"That's why we're burning it down."

He placed his palm against the door.

Heat surged through him.

Visions.

Flashes.

Women chained in pools of black water, moaning without end. Warriors broken not by blade—but by pleasure so warped it became torture.

The Eclipse Caller feeding off their ruin.

Rivan yanked his hand back.

"We end this now."

Inside the Temple

They entered the main hall.

Corrupted priestesses waited.

Women with blank eyes, their bodies beautiful but hollow, moving like puppets.

They didn't attack.

They simply opened their arms.

Welcoming.

Seductive.

Dangerous.

[System Threat Analysis: Corruption Vectors Detected – Touch-Based Mental Domination]

Rivan drew his blade.

The others followed.

And in that moment, a deep, rumbling voice filled the temple.

"Flameborn..."

The Eclipse Caller had noticed them.

"Your heat will feed the dark."

A massive shadow stirred at the far end of the hall—a figure cloaked in mist and muscle, wearing a crown of thorns made from broken Flameborn bones.

And it was smiling.

[System Lock: Eclipse Caller Engagement Confirmed | Battle Protocol Activated]

Rivan grinned savagely.

"Come burn, then."

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Next Chapter (26): Moan of the Forgotten Flame [18+] Where the battle inside the temple isn't just with swords. It's with souls.

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