Changes

[of course there are several conditions to be meet before you can control someone else lust, there are even cases in which you can't do so]

Alex raised a brow when he heard the goddess's explanation. "What are the conditions?" he inquired an instant later.

[There's really no need for you to know about those conditions since you are far from being able to control someone else's lust,] the goddess spoke dismissively.

'Then why did you tell me this if you knew that you were going to refuse to tell the conditions?' Alex's lips twitched.

[So that you understand that what you attempted to do was dumb,] the goddess retorted. [Trying to control someone else's lust, especially someone so incomparably stronger than you, was not just dangerous; it could have very well killed you. I had to intervene, otherwise, you might actually be in a vegetative state.]

Alex sucked in a sharp breath when he heard the goddess of lust.

'Had to intervene? What did you do?' he inquired after a moment.

[Forget it, just don't try to do something like that until you are ready,] replied the goddess.

'And how do I know that I'm ready?'

[When you can fully control your own lust. After all, it doesn't make sense for you to be able to control someone else's lust if you can't control your own.]

'Hm, it does strangely make sense,' Alex nodded his head.

[What is strange here? it's logical!]

'Yeah, yeah, you are right. In any case, if the requirement is to be able to control my lust, then it will be eas-'

[No, it will be difficult, extremely so," the goddess interrupted him with an uncharacteristically serious tone. "Contrary to what you might be thinking, controlling your lust won't be nearly as easy as you thought. For instance, just because you didn't have sex for the past weeks, didn't you literally pounce on your grandmother earlier? A grandmother that, if I recall correctly, you actually ran away from, saying that you didn't want to involve yourself sexually with.]

Alex got silent, not having anything to retort.

[See? It's not going to be easy. Plus, you might have noticed it, but after you began using the powers of the artifact to increase your own strength, your lust has been increasing by the day, right?] The goddess questioned, though by the sound of her voice, it was clear that she already knew the answer to her question.

Alex nodded his head, a serious expression on his face.

[It will continue; the more time passes, the more lustful you become. That's what it means to carry the sin of lust.]

[So, for your own good, begin to train yourself to resist your lust. But I'm not saying that you should stop doing perverted things; that will completely destroy the purpose of being the carrier of the sin of lust~]

With that, the voice of the goddess of lust faded from Alex's mind, though he didn't really notice, his thoughts consumed by contemplation.

'My lust is going to kee increasing?' Alex pondered.

The idea of him becoming even more lustful than he already was was a little bit dreadful for Alex. As the goddess had said, just a few weeks of him not having sex had caused him to partly lose his mind, so his increasing lust wasn't really a good thing for Alex as it might really cause him to lose his mind one day.

"No, I will find a way to resist, I hope," he muttered to himself. Exhaustion weighed heavily on him, prompting him to close his eyes and rest. However, at that moment, he felt a certain weight shifting on him.

Opening his eyes, he glanced down, only to see Lilia, who was apparently snuggling with him, slowly opening her eyes.

Seeing that he didn't even feel the weight of someone sleeping on him, Alex wondered if it was just Lilia who was light or if he was just too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice.

"Hello beautiful," Alex smiled and gave Lilia a peck on her forehead.

Lilia blinked, her expression one of confusion. After a moment of taking in her surroundings, she belatedly realized where she was.

"Hello to you too," she finally replied, leaning in to give Alex a peck on the lips.

"How are you feeling? Are you hurt anywhere?" Alex asked.

"No, I just feel really exhausted," Lilia answered as she placed her head on Alex's shoulder.

"I would feel surprised if you weren't tired after the destruction you caused," Alex chuckled.

"Destruction?" Lilia raised a brow in confusion. Then, the memories of her fight against Niya surfaced in her mind, and she suddenly sprang up, sitting on Alex's lap.

"Zid! I can use Zid!" She exclaimed in an excited tone.

"Zid? It rings a bell, but I can't remember what it is," Alex wondered as he also sat up with Lilia still on his lap.

"You don't recall? I once told you about it years..."

Lilia's words trailed off, and she suddenly grabbed Alex's face with both of her hands.

"Umm, why are you suddenly holding my face?" Alex inquired.

Lilia didn't reply and stared deeply into his eyes. At some point, she moved her face closer to Alex's until their faces were mere inches apart.

As if that wasn't enough, she widened Alex's right eye with her fingers and peered deeply into it.

"Your eyes color changed," she stated, "why is that?" She inquired.

Hearing her, Alex would have raised a brow if he could. He was aware of the changes happening inside his body but was completely clueless about his eyes changing color.

"Here, take a look," Lilia handed him a mirror she pulled out of her space ring.

"Heh, I'm still as handsome as ever," Alex remarked.

Lilia rolled her eyes upon hearing her husband's not-so-discreet self-praise.

"Hmm, yes, the color of my eyes has indeed changed; now, they are silver," Alex contemplated as he looked at himself in the mirror. "It must be due to the heart," he added, more to himself than to Lilia.

"The heart? What heart?" Lilia tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

"I will tell you later," Alex replied as he continued to admire himself in the mirror. "I have to say, this eye color suits me better than the last; I like it!"

"Well, I'm sure Grace won't share the same opinion," Lilia giggled.

"Ah, now that you mention it, it's true that the reason I'm her favorite is because of my hair and eye color," Alex smiled wryly.

"Well, you should still be her favorite; after all, you still possess the same hair color as her, that should count," Lilia reassured.

"True," Alex nodded, "well, it doesn't matter; soon there will be another reason why I'm going to be her favorite," Alex grinned.

"Oh, what is this reason?" Lilia looked at him curiously.

"Let's not get carried away; I will tell you later. For now, tell me about this Zid you spoke of..."

Alex's words trailed, and this time, it was his turn to suddenly grab Lilia's face.

With his hands on her cheeks, he moved her face from right to left, scrutinizing it.

"If it's payback for earlier, I'm sowwy," Lilia said in a muffled tone, her voice slightly playful.

"No, it's not that," Alex said as he let go of Lilia's face.

"You look younger," he stated as he tilted his head from left to right, examining her face from every angle. "Yup, you've definitely become younger."

Alex wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her closer until their faces were inches apart. "Younger and as beautiful as the first time we met," he murmured softly.

Lilia blushed slightly but then pinched him at the waist.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Alex exclaimed, feeling a sharp pain.

"'Younger and as beautiful as the first time we met.' Does that mean I wasn't beautiful when I appeared older?" Lilia asked sweetly, though the coldness in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.

"Then I retire what I sai—" Alex started to say before yelping as Lilia pinched him again.

"So I'm not beautiful right now?" she teased.

"Woman, what do you want, goddamnit!" Alex exclaimed in exasperation.

"Haha, I'm joking. Thanks for the compliment," Lilia giggled.

"For your information, hurting someone is not considered a joke!" Alex said as he rubbed his waist. "Anyway, what's up with that Zid thing?" he inquired.

"Ah, yes, if you recall..." Lilia then proceeded to narrate to Alex what she knew about Zid.

When she finished, Alex whistled in astonishment, "This Zid thing sounds amazing. So, did you manage to control it?"

"Yes, when that woman poisoned me and I was on the verge of death-"

"Wait, when you were what?"