Strongest Incubus System

Chapter 341: A problem.

Damon continued following the woman across the white expanse, unable to shake the growing feeling that something profoundly wrong was happening inside him. It wasn’t just a matter of being trapped in an impossible memory or walking through a frozen world that seemed to exist outside the normal rules of reality. The real problem was how his own body reacted to that place. The further he advanced, the more he realized his energy felt comfortable there. Not comfortable like someone finding a pleasant environment. Comfortable like something that had returned home after a very long absence.

That disturbed him more than any physical threat.

For years, Damon had cultivated his Qi with almost obsessive discipline. Each advance had been achieved through effort, training, risk, and a gradual understanding of his own limits. He knew the behavior of his energy the way a musician knows their instrument. However, at that moment, walking behind that silent figure, he felt something different. The Qi wasn’t just responding to him. It seemed to react to the environment. It seemed to listen to something.

Or someone.

The woman continued moving forward through the snow without leaving footprints behind. The detail continued to bother Damon. Even knowing it was a memory, his brain insisted on searching for logic where it clearly didn’t exist. The snow sank beneath his feet. The wind pushed his clothes. The world reacted to his presence. But he traversed that landscape like a painting walking through another painting.

This wasn’t natural.

This wasn’t even supernatural.

It was something far stranger.

The black mountain continued to grow on the horizon as the two advanced. The closer they got, the more Damon could distinguish details of the structure built on its summit. Colossal towers rose from the snowstorms. Crystalline walls reflected the white light of the sky. Impossible bridges connected frozen peaks above invisible abysses. The entire construction seemed to defy any reasonable concept of architecture.

It was beautiful.

It was terrifying.

And somehow it seemed familiar.

This last realization made Damon frown immediately. He had never seen that place. He was absolutely certain of it. Still, some part of his mind watched the distant fortress with an uncomfortable sense of recognition. Like when someone forgets an important word and continues to feel its presence on the tip of their tongue.

The feeling worsened when he noticed something else.

The woman was walking directly toward that place.

Without hesitation.

Without a doubt.

Without even looking to the sides.

Like someone returning to an inevitable destination.

Damon felt a strange weight in his chest.

It wasn’t fear.

Nor was it curiosity.

It felt like an involuntary anticipation.

Something inside him reacted to that fortress in the same way it had reacted to the name Celestial Ice Demon. There was no rational explanation. There was no associated memory. There was only an instinctive reaction that he couldn’t control.

Then the woman stopped.

The movement was so abrupt that it took Damon a few seconds to realize she was no longer moving forward. The wind continued to blow. The snow continued to fall. The mountain remained distant. But she had simply stopped walking.

And remained motionless.

Damon slowed his pace immediately.

The distance between them was only a few meters now.

He watched her back for a few seconds while trying to decide whether he should say something. Until that moment she had behaved exactly like a memory. An echo repeating past events. Nothing indicated that she was capable of interacting with him.

Then she spoke.

"Why is a child following me?"

The question pierced the silence of the snow like a stone thrown against glass.

Damon froze immediately.

His brain took a few seconds to process what he had just heard. Not because the words were difficult to understand. The problem was much simpler.

She had spoken to him.

Not to him.

With him.

The woman hadn’t even turned her head.

She continued looking ahead.

But there was no doubt.

She was addressing him directly.

"Wait..."

That was all Damon managed to say.

His thoughts stumbled over each other as he tried to understand the situation. This should be impossible. Memories didn’t improvise dialogues. Memories didn’t perceive observers. Memories didn’t complain about the presence of strangers.

The woman let out a small sigh.

Even with her back turned, Damon could sense a slight irritation in that gesture.

"Children really are troublesome."

Damon blinked.

Once.

Then again.

"I’m not a child."

The answer came out before he could even think better.

The woman tilted her head slightly.

"From my perspective, you are."

"That doesn’t make sense."

"Neither does you being here."

Damon opened his mouth to reply.

He never had the opportunity.

The world disappeared.

There was no displacement.

There was no blur.

There was no movement.

One instant she was in front of him.

The next, something extremely cold touched his neck.

Instinct took over immediately.

Every muscle in his body froze.

His breath stopped.

His heart raced.

A brutal sense of danger coursed through every fiber of his being.

Slowly, Damon moved only his eyes.

Just enough to see.

A sword rested against his throat.

The blade seemed made of crystalline ice, but that was only the superficial appearance. As his eyes analyzed the weapon, it became evident that it was much more than simple ice. Bluish runes moved through the crystalline structure like trapped rivers. Tiny stars seemed to be born and die within the blade.

It was beautiful.

And absolutely terrifying.

Because Damon knew.

He knew with impossible certainty.

If that sword advanced a single inch, he would die.

There would be no resistance.

There would be no fight.

There would be no chance.

The difference between them was simply absurd.

"Who are you?"

The woman’s voice emerged behind him.

Calm.

Controlled.

Almost polite.

That made the situation even more threatening.

Damon swallowed hard.

Or tried to.

The sword was too close to make movement comfortable.

"My name is Damon."

"That’s a name."

"That’s usually how introductions work."

"Not for my question."

Damon closed his eyes for a second.

That was irritatingly specific.

When he spoke again, he decided to be honest.

"I don’t know exactly who I am right now."

For a few seconds there was no answer.

The woman remained completely still.

Then, to his surprise, she gave a small laugh.

It wasn’t a loud sound.

Nor particularly warm.

But it was there.

And for some reason it was more frightening than the sword.

"That was the first intelligent answer I’ve heard today."

"I feel strangely offended."

"Good." The sword remained at his neck.

The wind continued to blow.

The snow continued to fall.

But now something had changed.

The woman was analyzing him.

Damon could feel it.

It wasn’t an ordinary look.

She wasn’t looking at his clothes.

Not even his face.

Not even his posture.

The sensation was far more invasive.

It felt like she was looking right through him.

Through his flesh.

Through his bones.

Through his soul.

The discomfort was immediate.

It was like being completely naked before someone who possessed unrestricted access to his thoughts.

The analysis continued for long seconds.

Then her expression changed.

For the first time.

Confusion.

Genuine confusion.

"Interesting."

Damon didn’t like that.

"When someone with a sword at my neck says that, bad things usually happen."

She completely ignored the comment.

Which was apparently a habit.

The woman narrowed her eyes as she continued to observe something inside him.

"This shouldn’t exist."

"Excellent news."

"I’m not talking to you."

"Unfortunately, I think you are."

Silence returned.

But now it felt different.

Heavier.

More focused.

As if something important had just happened.

Then she finally lowered the sword.

The blade dissolved into thousands of shimmering particles that vanished into the snow.

Even so, Damon didn’t relax.

Because her expression worsened.

Much worse.

Now she looked genuinely worried.

And Damon suspected this was terrible news.

The woman began to walk slowly around him.

Observing.

Studying.

Like a researcher examining a creature that shouldn’t exist.

Each turn increased her discomfort.

Finally she stopped before him.

Her blue eyes met his.

And for the first time Damon perceived something hidden beneath all that supernatural coldness.

Exhaustion.

Not physical exhaustion.

Not something a night’s rest would solve.

It was an ancient weariness.

Deep.

Accumulated over ages.

Like someone carrying an impossible burden for far too long.

"You really don’t know."

The sentence came out low.

Almost melancholic.

Damon frowned.

"Don’t know what?"

She remained silent for a few seconds.

Snowflakes landed on her white hair before disappearing.

When she finally answered, her voice seemed much more distant than before.

"You carry an impossible fragment."

Damon felt his stomach clench.

That sentence awakened something within him.

Something that immediately tried to respond.

His Qi reacted.

Not violently.

Not aggressively.

But it reacted.

Like an animal awakening from a long sleep.

The woman noticed.

And for the first time since they met, her eyes widened.

Not much.

But enough.

"Ah."

The sound escaped slowly from her lips.

This time there was no confusion.

No curiosity.

No irritation.

There was recognition.

And that was much worse.

Because when she looked directly at Damon again, there was something dangerously close to amusement on her face.

An amusement utterly inappropriate for someone who had just discovered a cosmic secret.

"Well."

She crossed her arms.

"That explains several potential catastrophes."

Damon stared at her.

"I have a feeling I’m not going to like this conversation."

"On the contrary."

A small smile appeared for the first time on his face.

A beautiful smile.

Terrifying.

And completely devoid of any good omen.

"You’re going to hate her."