Ruler of Heat: One Man, A Thousand Thirsts-Chapter 38: The Girl Behind the Veil

The wind carried heat, but it wasn't from the sun.

It came from beneath the soil—deep, ancient warmth that pulsed like the heartbeat of a buried god. Rivan stood alone at the edge of the southern ridge, the tall grass swaying behind him in waves. His cloak flared in the breeze, edges singed from the last confrontation.

The encounter with the Earth Fragment had changed him. He hadn't just walked away with power—he had walked away with a question: What part of him was still his, and what part was becoming something else?

The system hadn't spoken since.

No alerts. No prompts. No seductive whispers offering skill upgrades or quests. Just silence.

Which meant something was coming.

Rivan had learned by now that when the LustCore system went quiet, it wasn't because danger had passed. It was because something bigger was watching.

Behind him, footsteps approached—light, barefoot, deliberate.

He didn't turn.

"You've followed me for three days," he said.

A soft voice answered, muffled by fabric. "And you've let me."

He turned slowly.

There she stood—veiled head to toe in white silk, body wrapped like a dancer of the eastern courts. Only her eyes were visible: bright, unsettlingly silver. They shimmered faintly, as if they held their own moonlight.

"You're not one of the villagers," Rivan said.

"I was," she replied. "Until they traded me for peace."

He raised an eyebrow. "Peace with who?"

Her voice turned dry. "The ones who hunt Lust."

Rivan narrowed his eyes. The phrase didn't sound metaphorical.

[Minor Alert: High-Resonance Entity Detected — Energy Class: Unknown] [Auto-Defense Protocol: Standby]

The system had finally stirred.

She stepped forward.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "I'm not here to kill you."

Rivan took a cautious step back. "Then what do you want?"

She pulled back the veil from her mouth.

Her lips were stained dark red. Not from paint. From something older.

"I want to remember who I was," she said. "And I think you're the only one who can make me feel again." freēnovelkiss.com

Before he could respond, the air shifted.

Wind stopped.

The ground beneath them pulsed once.

And from the forest's edge—

Another shadow appeared.

Tall. Male. Armored in obsidian. Face hidden behind a half-mask of molten steel. He held a weapon Rivan had only heard about in deep vault records: a Soulbrand Blade—a sword that severed memory, not flesh.

The girl behind the veil trembled. For the first time, her mask cracked.

"He found me," she whispered. "You need to run."

Rivan didn't.

He stepped forward.

"I'm done running."

The masked man didn't speak. He raised the Soulbrand with glacial precision, the blade humming like a haunted flute. Its tip pointed not at Rivan — but at the girl.

"Step aside," the assassin said.

"No." Rivan's voice was low, firm. The kind of tone that doesn't need volume to carry weight.

[New Threat Identified: Soulbrand Assassin-Class Entity — Priority Level: Critical]

[LustCore Rebooting... 6%... 19%... 42%...]

The system wasn't ready.

Rivan didn't wait.

He lunged forward, low and fast, striking for the assassin's exposed flank. But the masked figure moved like liquid shadow, slipping around the blow and countering with a quick slice.

Steel met skin — just a graze.

But it was enough.

Rivan staggered back, blinking.

His name slipped.

Not aloud — but in his mind.

"What...?"

The girl screamed, rushing to his side. "He's trying to unmake you! Don't think! Focus on heat!"

Rivan growled, clenched his fists.

[Emergency Override — Flame Vein Channeling Initiated]

Power flared inside him, not as fire — but as memory reclaimed.

His childhood. The extraction chair. His mother's last words.

The heat returned.

He roared, slamming both palms to the ground. A ring of flame erupted outward, forcing the assassin to leap back.

"You're not taking my mind," Rivan spat.

The Soulbrand hissed, absorbing the heat. But the assassin didn't press.

He turned to the girl. "Your memory was sealed for a reason. Return — or I sever what's left."

She shook her head. "I choose him."

That was all it took.

The assassin vanished — not in smoke or shadow — but like a glitch in reality. No scent. No trail.

Just silence.

The silence lingered like smoke after battle.

Rivan's breath steadied. His skin still crackled faintly with residual heat. The girl stood beside him, veil fluttering, hands clenched tightly around the fabric near her chest.

He turned to her. "What just happened?"

She didn't look up. "His blade touched your essence. It tried to peel your identity away, layer by layer. That's what the Soulbrand does."

"But I pushed it back."

"No," she said, finally meeting his gaze. "You burned it out. You forced memory to fight memory. That's not strength — that's defiance made real."

Rivan stared at the ground. The ring of scorched earth still pulsed faintly.

He asked quietly, "And you? Why would he come after you with a blade like that?"

She hesitated.

Then, slowly, she reached up and untied the veil.

As it fell, her full face came into view — angular, sharp-boned, lips full and pale, with a faint scar under her left eye.

"I'm not just someone they traded away," she said. "I was the one they tried to erase."

A beat.

"My name is Selina."

The name struck something inside Rivan — something familiar, buried.

He blinked. "I've heard that name... in the vault records. A girl who vanished during the Lust Suppression Riots."

She nodded. "They blamed me for what I awakened. But I never asked for it."

Rivan clenched his jaw. "We never do."

[LustCore Syncing... Selina – Compatibility Level: 89%] [New Subquest Available: Memory Restoration — Accept?]

He looked at her. "Do you want it back? Everything they took from you?"

Selina nodded. "Yes. Even if it hurts."

Rivan extended his hand. "Then we start together."

They made camp in the ruins of an old outpost that night. Just stone pillars and a shattered well, but enough to rest.

Selina sat by the fire, her knees drawn to her chest. Rivan placed his cloak around her shoulders. Neither spoke for a long while.

Then, finally—

"Do you remember what they took?" he asked.

"Pieces," she said. "Not full memories. Just flashes. A warm room. The scent of citrus. A voice—mine—singing something I can't name. Then cold. Metal. Silence."

Rivan felt the system stir.

[Memory Sync Initiated... Subject: Selina]

[Begin Subquest: Touchpoint Recall – Progress: 0%]

"You'll get them back," he said. "We'll find the rest."

Selina glanced at him. "You don't have to do this."

"I do." He leaned closer. "Because if they erased you once... they'll come for me too."

The flames crackled. A single spark floated between them.

Selina's fingers touched his.

In that moment, warmth spread through the link.

[Bond Connection Formed – Initial Phase Complete]

[Passive Ability Unlocked: Shared Will — Reduces psychic attacks when bonded partner is near.]

She looked at him with something between gratitude and fear. "If I change... promise me you'll remember who I was."

Rivan didn't blink. "I'll make sure you remember too."

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Coming Next: Chapter 39 – The Memory Vault Where memories bleed, truths break, and Rivan faces a version of himself that shouldn't exist.

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