The question that had just left Arvin's lips instantly rendered Kaydan speechless. He never expected that his husband would suddenly desire his soul.
Yet, amidst his shock, the gray-haired youth offered a gentle smile.
"If that is your desire, then I will gladly give it to you, My Light." Kaydan answered firmly, without a single trace of doubt in his eyes.
"Alright, I will claim your soul after this. But for now, I must take the key."
With confident steps, he walked toward a desk in the corner of the room and opened drawer number three. Inside, there lay a key whose shape and design were vastly different from all the keys hanging on the wall.
As soon as he retrieved the key, Arvin turned and walked until he arrived in front of the treasury room's double doors.
Click!
The lock clicked open.
Carefully, Arvin pushed the door open and slipped inside. Within the room lay massive piles of money and gold jewelry in utterly fantastic amounts.
However, right after taking a few steps inside, Arvin suddenly stopped. Instead, he turned around, walked out, left the treasury room, and locked the double doors back up.
Without a word, he walked back to the key room, returned the key to the drawer, and repaired the broken wooden door using his alchemy magic. In an instant, the door was restored to its original, intact state, looking as if it had never been destroyed by the destructive wind magic earlier.
Kaydan, who watched all of his husband's actions from his back, could only gape in bewilderment. His brain failed to comprehend the thought process of his husband, who had suddenly decided against taking all the wealth in that room.
"Why did you decide against taking all that money and treasure, My Light?" the youth asked in confusion. "Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to prevent their attack plan?"
"I am waiting for the right time to do it!" Arvin answered calmly. "For the sake of your safety and security, I do not want to act recklessly. Once this kingdom has completely confirmed our departure from here, I will take action immediately."
After delivering that logical reason to his spouse, Arvin walked toward the youth's bedroom, his calm footsteps piercing the silence of the night.
Kaydan smiled sincerely upon hearing his husband's answer, touched that he was willing to postpone his grand plan simply because he prioritized his safety.
Upon arriving inside the bedroom, Arvin lowered Kaydan from his back.
"You said you wanted to surrender your soul, right?" Arvin asked for confirmation, looking straight at the youth. "May I claim your soul right now?"
The gray-haired youth fell silent for a moment, pondering every word his husband said.
Surrender my soul? Kaydan thought in confusion. Does he want to devour my soul? Or does he want me to die to prove my sincerity to him?
However, he still nodded in agreement without any hesitation.
"I am willing!" he answered firmly. "If surrendering my soul to you is the best path to my freedom and allows me to live with you forever, then do it!"
Arvin was extremely satisfied to hear Kaydan's unwavering answer. A smile full of relief was clearly painted on his face.
"Lie down!" Arvin commanded.
Kaydan immediately lay down on the bed after hearing that gentle command.
"I am truly going to claim your life, Kaydan." Arvin said in a serious tone, eager to begin the soul seal magic ritual. "Close your eyes!"
Without the slightest objection, the gray-haired youth shut his eyes tightly and awaited the process of his soul's surrender in silence.
Arvin reached his hand forward. He concentrated his mana and focused his mind to recognize and remember Kaydan's soul absolutely.
"O soul that I have chosen, from this moment on, I shall bind your soul to mine!" Arvin chanted, initiating the ritual. "You shall die as a mortal human, and shall rise again with a soul bound to mine!"
Instantly, magic circles taking the form of thick black smoke began to appear and swirl from beneath Kaydan's body on the bed, as well as beneath Arvin's feet.
The thick black smoke slowly crept upward, seeping into Kaydan's body and Arvin's body. In the air, the plumes of thick black smoke intertwined, forming a spiritual tether that directly connected the souls between the two.
At the same time, the gray-haired youth's breath came in rapid and ragged gasps. His chest heaved violently, as if his soul was being forcibly ripped and pulled out from within his body.
And then... there was no longer the slightest bodily movement to indicate that he was breathing.
Kaydan was dead!
The thick black smoke moved once more, shrouding Kaydan's stiff and lifeless body. In this crucial moment, Arvin immediately implanted his absolute command into the soul he had just bound.
"My command to you is: be your true self, exactly as you were before you were bound by this soul seal!" Arvin decreed absolutely. "Do not leak any secrets you know about our family to anyone else without my permission, and lastly... never betray me for all eternity!"
The thick black smoke was instantly sucked in, merging completely with Kaydan's body. And what happened next was that the youth's chest began to move again, drawing in the breath of life.
Once the pitch-black magic circle vanished without a trace, Kaydan gasped and immediately sat up on the bed. He looked down at his hands, then stared at Arvin's face with a highly confused and disoriented expression.
"My Light, it felt as though my soul had just been pulled into your body. But, why am I still alive now?" the youth asked in bewilderment.
Arvin looked at his new spouse's face while panting heavily. He slumped down on the edge of the bed, feeling extremely exhausted after his mana had been nearly drained completely by the soul seal magic ritual.
"Your soul... is now bound to me." Arvin answered between pants, trying to catch his breath. "Your lifespan depends entirely on me. If I die, you die too. If you want to die, you will not be able to. In other words, you are currently an immortal human who will not age, will never get sick, and will never die."
Kaydan was utterly shocked upon learning that he had now become an immortal human who could not die. However, what surprised him far more was a foreign sensation in his chest. He could suddenly feel exactly what his husband was feeling right now.
Through their soul connection, he could clearly feel that Arvin was currently overwhelmed by anxiety, gratitude, happiness, exhaustion, vindictiveness, and burning anger. Everything felt incredibly real.
Yet, that shock was instantly overshadowed by his immense worry for his husband.
"Are you alright, My Light?" the youth asked, extremely worried, his hand immediately reaching out to touch his husband's shoulder. "I am truly, truly sorry for making you this exhausted."
"It's alright..." Arvin replied soothingly, gently holding Kaydan's hand. "What matters is that you are now safe and have become an immortal human like me and the others."