Succubus World - Start with Incubus System

The black car slowly came to a stop in front of a building set apart from Silver Moon’s main commercial district.

Erik stepped out and immediately looked up. The building wasn’t especially tall, only a little over twenty floors, but its entire exterior was clad in white stone and gold metal. At the very top sat an enormous sun emblem, at its center the figure of a man with both arms spread wide, countless rays of light radiating out behind him.

After just a few seconds of looking, Erik’s eyes started to hurt.

’These people’s taste is beyond saving.’

The door on the other side opened. Elowen stepped out in a simple white dress, her long silver hair falling down her back. Since they’d left the hospital, her hand had barely let go of Erik’s. Now, looking at the building before them, those fingers gripped even tighter.

”I still think I should go in with you.”

Erik turned to look at her. ”The letter only invited men.”

”I can wait outside the room.”

”Elowen.”

His voice wasn’t harsh, but she immediately went quiet. Erik reached out and stroked her soft silver hair, taking in the unease she couldn’t hide. Elowen had only just awakened an Epic talent, Felyn was still under treatment, and Carmilla and Runi hadn’t fully recovered either. He didn’t want her dragged into this place.

”You just finished your examination. Go back to the hospital first.” Erik said slowly. ”I’m only going in to talk.”

”That’s exactly what worries me.” Elowen looked at the sun emblem atop the building, her voice growing smaller. ”Oriec was only a messenger. The ones actually inside have lived in this kind of order for far too long. I’m afraid they’ll try to turn you into one of them.”

Erik raised an eyebrow slightly, then asked deliberately: ”You think a few sentences will have me growing my nails down to my knees and needing someone to spoon-feed me from now on?”

Elowen didn’t laugh. She only looked at him for a long moment, then said quietly: ”I know you wouldn’t. But I’m still scared.”

That seriousness dimmed the smile on Erik’s lips. He pulled her closer and leaned down to press a light kiss to her forehead.

”Trust me.”

Two simple words, but Elowen still closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them, the unease hadn’t entirely vanished, yet in the end she slowly nodded.

”All right. If anything happens, call me immediately.”

”Mm.”

”If they give you trouble...”

”I’ll call.”

”Don’t handle it all on your own.”

”I know.”

Elowen hugged him one more time before finally getting into the car. Only once the vehicle had slowly pulled away from the plaza did Erik turn to look at the building again. The smile on his face was gone.

”Let’s see what kind of hell is waiting inside.”

There were no guards at the main entrance. Only two rows of Succubi in white uniforms kneeling along the walkway.

Erik stopped short the moment he stepped in.

They weren’t kneeling in greeting and then rising. They were genuinely kneeling. Knees pressed flat against the marble floor, hands placed neatly in front of them, heads bowed so low their faces couldn’t be made out. When they needed to move, they weren’t permitted to stand either; they could only shuffle forward inch by inch on their knees.

A Succubus near the door noticed Erik entering and immediately shuffled over on her knees to kneel before him. The hem of her long dress covered her legs, but Erik could still see the thin bandages wrapped around her knees, already soaked through with blood.

”Welcome, my lord.” Her voice was very small, almost devoid of emotion. ”Lord Erik, is it?”

”Yes.”

”God Zeka is waiting for you on the top floor. Please follow me.”

With that, she didn’t stand. She simply turned on her knees and began slowly moving toward the elevator. Erik watched her back for a few seconds without taking a step. When the Succubus heard no footsteps behind her, she turned around in alarm.

”My lord?”

”Why don’t you stand up?”

Her face went white instantly. ”I... am not permitted to.”

”Why not?”

”Succubi may not stand higher than a man within the Council’s premises.” She bowed her head even lower, her voice beginning to shake. ”If we stood, we might accidentally look directly at you. Please forgive me.”

Erik looked down the vast corridor. At least twenty Succubi were kneeling here, and not one dared raise her head. He suddenly understood why the stone floor was polished clean enough to serve as a mirror. Because the people working here had to drag their knees across it all day long.

”Lead the way.” Erik said.

The Succubus immediately continued. This time he deliberately walked slowly, if only so she wouldn’t have to move on her knees too quickly.

At the elevator, two other Succubi kneeling on either side of the doors immediately crawled over. One held a white cloth, the other carried a small silver tray. Erik looked at them, his voice going cold.

”What are you doing?”

”Cleaning your shoes, my lord.”

”That won’t be necessary.”

Both of them froze at once. The Succubus with the cloth lifted her head just slightly, panic surfacing in her eyes almost instantly. ”But it’s the regulation.”

”I said it isn’t necessary.”

She bowed her head. ”Yes, my lord.”

Erik assumed that was the end of it, but the woman holding the tray suddenly crawled closer. She bent down before his shoes, then parted her lips. Her tongue slowly extended.

Erik startled and took a step back. ”Hold on.”

The Succubus stopped immediately. ”Did I... do something wrong?”

”What are you doing?”

”After wiping them, we must use our tongues to check whether any dust remains on your shoes.” She answered as though reciting a procedure she had memorized long ago. ”If any dust remains, Lord Zeka will be very displeased.”

Erik looked into her eyes.

Empty. No shame, no resistance, not even a sense of being degraded. She was only afraid of doing it wrong, afraid of punishment, afraid that one small mistake would make someone angry.

That alone sent a chill through Erik.

”It isn’t necessary.” He pressed the elevator button. ”I’ll walk in myself.”

The metal doors opened. Erik stepped straight inside while the two Succubi remained kneeling outside, staring after him in confusion. Just before the doors closed, his gaze met the woman who had been about to bend toward his shoes.

Something very small seemed to flicker in those clouded eyes.

Like the first time anyone had made her realize that a man could also say: That won’t be necessary.

The elevator began to rise. Erik leaned lightly against the metal wall, watching the floor numbers climb, his hand slowly curling into a fist.

Beating a few people like Oriec to death wouldn’t fix this place. The ideology had existed for far too long, seeping into every rule, every spoken word, and even into the reflexes of the Succubi being trampled. If he stormed in here, beat every man senseless, and declared everyone free, the women kneeling out there might not even understand what he was trying to do.

They might fear him more.

A culture spanning hundreds of years couldn’t be changed with a few sentences.

Ding.

The elevator stopped at the top floor. The doors opened, and Erik saw another two rows of Succubi kneeling along the corridor. Their condition was even worse than those below. Some had bandages wrapped around both knees, some trembled so badly they had to brace both hands against the ground to hold themselves up, but not one dared to stand.

At the end of the corridor was a large door plated in gold metal.

Two Succubi kneeling beside it pulled the doors open.

Erik walked in.

The room was enormous, but only one man sat at its center. He was seated in a large chair that combined an electric cart with magical apparatus. The frame was carved all over with sun motifs, and the wheels were set with glowing golden crystals. The person on it was so thin he was little more than skin stretched over bone, his long white hair trailing all the way to the floor, and his fingernails were over half a meter long.

Six Succubi attended him.

Two were permitted to stand, but only to hold up Zeka’s hands with velvet cushions so his nails wouldn’t strike the armrests. Two more knelt behind the chair, lifting sections of his white hair to keep them off the ground. The last two knelt right at his feet, their shoulders locked stiff from holding the same posture far too long.

Erik took in the scene, then looked at the man’s face.

Zeka looked back at him.

His gaze was utterly placid. No wariness, no interest, like someone watching an insect crawl into his room. After a while, he finally spoke, his voice slightly high and so slow that every word seemed to be waiting for someone to transcribe it.

”Erik. You’ve come.”

Erik didn’t answer.

”I am God Zeka.” He lifted his chin slightly. ”The one who administers the Council of the Sacred Sun Men in this city.”

Erik’s face stiffened.

’God?’

’He actually calls himself God?’

He wanted to laugh, but looking at the Succubi kneeling all around, Erik found he couldn’t laugh at all. Zeka didn’t seem to need any reaction from him either. He simply continued at his leisure:

”I summoned you here today because of your recent actions. You are diminishing the value of men.”

”All because I proposed to a woman?”

”Not only that.” Zeka narrowed his eyes. ”You cook for yourself, you work for yourself, you care for Succubi, you publicly protect them. You even knelt before a Succubus. Such acts breed inappropriate expectations in them.”

Erik looked him straight in the eye. ”No matter how rare men may be, that doesn’t grant anyone the right to trample Succubi like this.”

At that very moment, a Succubus kneeling at Zeka’s feet trembled involuntarily. Her hand shifted just slightly, and her fingertips brushed the heel of his shoe.

Zeka looked down.

That single glance drained the color from the girl’s face. She hurriedly pressed herself lower, her voice shaking: ”Forgive me, God Zeka. I won’t-”

Zeka reached for a small black device on the armrest.

Click.

Purple sparks flashed beneath the girl’s skin. Her body curled up instantly, both hands clawing at the floor until they bled. Her scream was choked back in her throat, while every other Succubus bowed her head lower in unison.

Erik took a step forward. ”Stop.”

Zeka didn’t look at him. His finger remained on the control, his expression as placid as if he were repairing a broken object. ”You see? A worm that doesn’t know its place dirties the entire room.”

Click.

The girl convulsed even more violently. The hands lifting Zeka’s hair behind him shook, but she didn’t dare let go. Letting go once might allow his hair to touch the ground; in this place, that was perhaps a graver crime than watching someone die.

”You’re insane.” Erik said coldly.

Only now did Zeka look at him, the corner of his mouth curling. ”Insane? No, Erik. I simply understand the value of things. A Succubus is replaceable, a worm is replaceable, and even a swarm of them is replaceable. One dies, you recruit another. If they won’t obey, kill a few more and they learn to fear.”

Click.

The girl at his feet jerked hard one last time, then went limp against the floor. Her eyes remained open, but there was no response left in them at all.

The remaining Succubus at Zeka’s feet bit her lip until it bled. She wanted to crawl toward her companion, but the moment she stirred even slightly, Zeka’s gaze landed on her.

”What do you think you’re doing?”

She went rigid, tears dripping onto the stone floor. ”I... I only wanted to see whether she was still alive...”

”Then would you like to lie down beside her?”

She retreated at once, trembling as she prostrated herself. Zeka waved a hand with utter indifference.

”Remove the body. Put someone else in its place. That spot shouldn’t stay empty too long, it’s unpleasant to look at.”

A Succubus outside the door crawled in. She didn’t dare look at the corpse on the floor, only dragging the dead woman out with shaking hands. Then another woman immediately knelt in exactly that spot, her knees touching stone still slick with blood.

Zeka watched the scene, his expression a little more satisfied. Erik’s fist clenched until it went white. He understood now why not a single Succubus dared resist. This wasn’t cruelty erupting out of rage. Zeka killed so naturally, so casually, that it was like discarding an object he’d finished using.

Zeka raised the black device, his voice still unruffled. ”The Contract Control Device, created from the Ancient Contract between men and Succubi. It can punish, restrain, or kill. As long as the target exists within a Contract system the device can identify, its highest setting can destroy the link buried deep in the soul.”

He tilted his head toward Erik.

”If you continue giving them inappropriate expectations, I will start with the women at your side.”

”Elowen. Meira. Felyn. Carmilla. Sarna.”

With each name spoken, Erik’s fist clenched tighter.

”I can make every one of them disappear.” Zeka smiled. ”No matter how many worms die, the world goes on unaffected.”