Chapter 96: Cracks

"...Fine." Typhon speaks in a gentle tone, rising and walking over to Nio, who shrinks back slightly.

"T-Typhon, I don’t think you should—" Nioh tries to interject, realizing that Nio is being deceived, but she’s met with a slap that sends her to the floor. Nioh touches her face, confused by the reaction.

She had only tried to "defend" Nio because Typhon is normally never aggressive without a clear reason, and in this context, she would only say something manipulative.

"..." Nio stares in shock at Nioh on the ground, tears spilling from her eyes out of fear and a flashback of the past, while Typhon grabs Nio by the arms and lifts her up.

"Nio, stay calm." Nio curls up in Typhon’s arms, and Typhon gives her a gentle smile.

"I think you two are getting things confused. I’m someone who knows how to respect a limit before it breaks. Nioh, you’re a Goddess, a cosmic divinity, a being who sustained a universe—you were... strong."

"Our fragile Nio here, on the other hand, is a former human, someone who never had power in her life, who lived in a world that was practically a filthy dump. She’s such a... soft girl. She receives different treatment than you."

"Do you understand? I’m more ’lenient’ with Nio because she would break far too easily. Her fragile mind, born from human standards, deserves special treatment..." Typhon has just indirectly shown literal favoritism.

"..." Nioh looks at Nio with confusion—the Nio who is right now in Typhon’s arms as if it were the highest place of all.

"Your expression is adorable, Nioh. Let’s just say I do have a certain favoritism for Nio. To me, you, Nioh, are like an adorable girl, a bit wild, someone who needs to be tamed. Nio, on the other hand, is like a cute dragon who forgot how to be an adult and is learning to walk all over again from the beginning."

"Do you understand the difference?" Typhon kisses Nio’s cheek, and even though Nioh realizes the real reason behind all of this is literally to stir up intrigue between the two Nios and make them fight, jealousy rises in the depths of Nioh’s heart.

Her body, trained to "love" Typhon, realizes it has lost its place on the podium. Another being has claimed a higher spot in Typhon’s heart simply for being "special" in a way she cannot replicate.

Nio doesn’t quite understand this exchange of glances and grows confused when she notices the wild look Nioh gives her, as if she wanted to suffocate her to death.

’What the hell is going on here?’ Nio wonders as Typhon sits on the table, settling Nio on her lap while grabbing a piece of chocolate and bringing it to Nio’s mouth, which Nio accepts by reflex.

Typhon’s touch is gentle and loving, though restrictive and clingy. Nioh rises from the floor, wiping away the tears that came from the slap and the fear.

"Sorry..." She apologizes, returning to her chair while Typhon gives a slightly macabre smile despite appearing gentle.

"Nio, I can see you’re confused. What happened is simple—I will be much more gentle and lenient with you. Obviously, if you mess up with me, I’ll hurt you, but only a little and for a much shorter time than Nioh."

"Understand? You’re my favorite, and you get special treatment." Nio looks at Nioh and then at Typhon.

"Wait, seriously? So you’re not going to do all those horrible things you described before?"

"I will, but for a much shorter time than I did with Nioh, and only if you misbehave. Have you thought about behaving?"

"Are you really going to believe Nioh? I don’t know what she told you, but I bet she said I’m not trustworthy, that I’ll hurt you even if you obey, that I’m unpredictable..."

"But Nio... where’s the proof of that? Besides, if I hurt Nioh, have you ever asked yourself if she didn’t deserve it? She says she did nothing, but if I saw her do something, then is there really nothing there?" Typhon begins planting doubts in Nio’s mind.

"..." And Nioh can only watch in silence as a deep sense of injustice rises within her.

"Uh... I..." Nio can’t say anything, because in reality she doesn’t have a real opinion about Typhon. She’s seen too little of her to know what’s true and what’s a lie.

"Shall we begin our little lesson? I think first I’ll teach you a few things about the female body... for example, did you know that female pleasure can be especially sensitive to psychological and relational context?"

"..." Typhon places a sweet in her own mouth and then kisses Nio, who is caught off guard. Typhon embraces Nio affectionately, stroking her back, which by reflex makes Nio’s arms slowly wrap around Typhon’s back.

Typhon pushes the sweet onto Nio’s tongue as they share that sweet kiss—a kiss as if they had been lovers for years, when in reality Nio had barely seen her more than a few times.

"..." But Nio’s body remembers. The context fits, and above all, the instinct is strong. Typhon toys with that instinct to want more, she toys with Nio’s selfishness.

Mentally, Nio doesn’t notice that Typhon has forced a competition between her and Nioh, but psychologically, in her subconscious, she registered that competition, and her selfishness guides her to "gain the upper hand," making her kiss Typhon intensely, closing her eyes.

The mix of draconic instincts, personal selfishness, and her controlling mind makes her try to "steal" the attention. Nio slowly opens her eyes, looking at Nioh with an involuntary look of superiority, which makes Nioh grind her teeth.

"Haaa..." Typhon ends their sweet kiss as Nio gasps, feeling incredibly good. She never imagined a simple kiss could be so pleasurable.

"Did you like it?" Typhon finishes everything with a gentle question, which forces Nio to truly think about it.

"...Y-Yes..." Nio hesitates, but in the end, she did like it—she knows that—and she voices that opinion.

"Good girl." Typhon praises her with a caress on her head, a soft and gentle stroke. What started with Nioh trying to protect Nio from manipulation only gave Typhon more cards to play.

"Nio, I know you’re going to fight against me and try to kill me. If I win... I swear I’ll give you a very sweet reward for your attempt to entertain me." Typhon whispers softly into Nio’s ear before giving a light, soft bite to her pointed ear, which makes Nio blush.

’Her voice... it’s so seductive... I never realized how delicious her voice is...’ An irreparable crack forms in the relationship between the two Nios before either of them even realizes something has been irreparably broken in a matter of seconds—all of it orchestrated by a plan Typhon devised in a fraction of a second when Nioh tried to "protect" Nio.