Chapter 361: Three Part Vacation (7)

At first, a star’s union sounded like some term from astronomy, but Kwon Oh-Jin soon grasped its true meaning.

He stared at Vega as if a hammer had just smacked him in the back of the head.

“

Uh

, so... Y-You want to do it here? Now?”

He never imagined that Vega, far more reserved than the other two women, would make such a suggestion.

She wanted to do it outdoors for her first time? Vega had blushed just from holding hands.

Kwon Oh-Jin wondered if he had heard right.

“

U-Um

,” Vega hesitated as her ears burned bright red. “Y-You and the other two have...

um...

had that experience already, haven’t you?”

Just seeing how Song Ha-Eun and Isabella approached Kwon Oh-Jin without hesitation, she could tell what went on between them.

He nodded awkwardly. “Well, yeah, but...”

Lovers naturally made love since physical connection mattered just as much as emotional connection.

Vega averted her gaze with a slightly sad expression. “I’m the only one who hasn’t experienced it... It f-feels a little lonely.”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes trembled.

Holy shit.

Song Ha-Eun and Isabella had tempted him plenty of times, but he had never felt this kind of seduction. His heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest. As if he had been catching nothing but fastballs straight down the line, suddenly, someone threw him a wicked curveball.

Damn it.

His breathing grew rough, and the heat rushed to his head.

Vega flinched under the gaze of his reddened eyes. “W-Why are you looking at me like that...?”

Kwon Oh-Jin took a deep breath, desperately trying to cool his head. He wanted to pull her into his arms right now, but still had to deal with something.

“What if other Celestials show up? Didn’t you say this was one of those legendary spots?”

Similar to sharing a kiss under a mistletoe at Christmas for happiness, this legend was completely baseless. Nonetheless, plenty of people on Earth believed and followed such superstitions. Sometimes, certain locations even became full-blown tourist attractions, crowded year after year.

Of course, what we’re doing here is a lot more than just a kiss.

If this place was as famous as Vega had said, another Celestial really could wander by. They had already seen couples acting intimately back at the Starlight Plaza earlier.

“D-Don’t worry about that!” Vega declared with absolute confidence.

He gave her a skeptical look and wondered what that confidence was based on.

“

Uh...

w-well...” Her eyes darted around before she took a quick breath and spread her arms wide.

Woong!

Brilliant silver light poured out from her and flooded the Grave of Stars. Only a Celestial could wield a Sacred Ground.

Kwon Oh-Jin stared at her in disbelief. “Y-You’re going as far as to use your Sacred ground.”

Even if they were in the Sanctum without the restrictions of the Law, using her Sacred Ground just for a star’s union was something else. It was like not being able to get a hotel room and deciding to just buy the whole hotel.

“

Haa, haa.

N-Now, no one can enter.” Still breathless from creating the Sacred Ground, Vega swallowed hard and looked at him.

Her clenched fists seemed to shout, “Nothing is stopping us now!”

“I guess...” Kwon Oh-Jin almost regretted asking about other Celestials interrupting.

Now that she had used her Sacred Ground, they could no longer turn back.

Ah, screw it.

His patience had reached its limit.

“Come here, Vega.” He gently took her hand.

“

Ah

.”

He could feel a slight tremor running through her fingers. Whether it was from anticipation or fear, he couldn’t tell.

It’s her first time, after all.

The least he could do was be as gentle as possible so she wouldn’t be scared.

“Hold on a second.” Kwon Oh-Jin reached out toward the space around them.

Rumble.

The remnants of the Black Heaven gathered into his palm. The energy within had long since drained away, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell.

For some reason, this makes them surprisingly soft.

He lightly closed his fingers around the gathered remnants of the Black Heaven.

Squish.

As if holding a handful of cotton, a soft sensation spread across his palm.

“Lie down here.”

Kwon Oh-Jin gathered the remnants of the Black Heaven into a rounded shape, creating an improvised bed. He took Vega’s hand, trying to lay her down as gently as possible.

“

Umm...

m-my child.”

“

Hm?

”

Vega’s face flushed red like an apple as she dropped her head low. “You can...”

“What was that?”

He could barely hear her.

Stammering and hesitating, Vega muttered, “Y-You can be... a little rougher.”

Yeah. That’s it.

He couldn’t hold back anymore.

“

Kyaah!

”

Kwon Oh-Jin shoved Vega down roughly.

***

Where the death and birth of stars intertwined, Vega had fallen fast asleep in the bed made from the remnants of the Black Heaven. Her faint breaths tickled Kwon Oh-Jin’s ear.

He cleared his throat as he recalled the passionate star’s union that just happened moments ago.

Well, I knew Vega had that kind of... taste.

But he hadn’t expected her to demand such intensity even for her first time.

At this point, it’s not a star’s union, but a star’s collision.

With that useless thought, he gently stroked Vega’s cheek.

“

Uuuh.

M-My child... I-I was wrong... P-Please forgive me.”

Was she recalling that star’s collision in her dreams? Vega let out a flushed sigh and squirmed slightly.

“If Ha-Eun finds out about this, she’ll throw a fit.”

Song Ha-Eun would probably tease Vega relentlessly until Vega locked herself in the temple again. Though part of him wanted to see Vega pouting and on the verge of tears, he could never tell Song Ha-Eun about their private night.

Guess I’ll just wait until Vega wakes up.

As he got to his feet to look around the Grave of Stars a bit more, a burning pain spread out on his left chest as if a red-hot brand was searing his flesh.

Sizzle!

“

Argh!

”

It wasn’t unfamiliar. He had felt this pain nine times before.

Wait, no way.

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes widened as he unbuttoned his shirt and looked at his chest.

“Holy shit.”

A tenth stroke had been carved next to the Stigma of Lyra. As it formed, the Stigma’s mana ran fiercely through him.

D-Did I really just reach ten stars?

He could hardly believe it even after seeing it with his own eyes. Instead of feeling incredibly happy about a feat only a tiny fraction of Awakeners ever attained, he was more taken aback by the absurdity of this situation. He had only spent a passionate night with Vega.

N-No way. That’s impossible.

Even if Vega was the Celestial of Lyra, simply sleeping with her couldn’t have possibly pushed him to ten stars. He examined the Grave of the Stars closely, wondering if this place held some special power.

Stigma of Canes Venatici.

Kwon Oh-Jin heightened his senses to the maximum and scanned his surroundings. He even released the Black Heaven’s clouds and tried absorbing everything in range just to see if some sort of other energy existed in the area.

“Nope.”

The remnants of the Black Heaven and the corpses of stars that lit the darkness were all just hollow shells that couldn’t have pushed him to ten stars. That left only one possibility.

“S-So, I really reached ten stars by doing it with Vega?”

That was ridiculous.

He let out a hollow laugh. No matter how much he tried to deny it, no other explanation existed.

“Come to think of it, my Stigma of Lyra did suddenly grow stronger after Vega and I became a couple.”

He never thought it was because they had become lovers. As Vega had said before, Celestials couldn’t directly help Awakeners grow stronger.

I thought it was because of the Black Heaven.

He assumed the Stigma of Lyra had grown stronger due to the Black Heaven’s tenth enlightenment. Clearly, that theory turned out to be dead wrong.

Kwon Oh-Jin sighed deeply, “

Haaa

.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but couldn’t keep denying the truth with such clear cause and effect staring him in the face.

Every time I get closer to Vega... the Stigma of Lyra grows stronger.

He didn’t know whether it was due to the Black Heaven’s influence or something unique to the Stigma of Lyra. To make sure, he needed to compare with someone else. However, the only other person with the Black Heaven was the Heavenly Demon.

And I’m the only Awakener with the Stigma of Lyra.

With such a lack of samples, he could only accept what was in front of him.

“So, I get stronger every time I do it with Vega...”

Isabella also grew stronger every time she drank his blood and squeezed him dry.

“What kind of smut novel plot is this?” Kwon Oh-Jin groaned, pulling his hair.