Chapter 316: The Oddest Sin of Them All

Once the Pantheon of Infinite Dreams had finally settled, they stepped out into Pantheos.

Their arrival did not go unnoticed.

At the heart of the Multiverse of Bounded Hearts stood not a Universe, but a fortress shaped like an enormous heart, its chambers vast enough to be mistaken for entire worlds.

Pink-gold light shimmered along its outer walls, while pathways of pale stone curved gracefully, mirroring the form of a ribcage.

The air itself felt warm, almost sensual, and inside this stronghold, the feeling was much more intense.

Inside, a succubus walked down dimly lit corridors naked except for the tablet in her hands.

She had dark hair falling down a bare back, small, polished horns, a tail that kept time against her calf, hips that made her stride look slower than it was.

Her breasts moved with each step on stone, while the tablet’s glow sat on her collarbones and on the wet sheen already gathering at her inner thighs.

She passed alcoves where other bodies were busy and did not look long enough to stop.

After a short walk, she arrived at the grandest chambers of the stronghold, at the end of the hall.

---

Inside, calling the room vast would have been an understatement.

Glass—or something convincingly acting as glass—stretched across the far wall in one seamless pane. Beyond it, the whole Multiverse of Bounded Hearts floated in view, all fifty of its universes suspended in a breathtaking display.

At the center of the chamber, a tub filled with pink, steaming water rested against smooth pale marble, and the woman within it made the Succubus seem like nothing more than a rough sketch.

Her long, red hair drifted lazily across the surface of the water, strands curling and sticking to her shoulders just above the waterline.

Her reddish-pink eyes, half-lidded and calm, stared ahead with an unhurried ease.

The bath’s soft pink hue washed over her pale skin, giving it a warm glow.

At the waterline, her chest rested naturally—neither too small nor overly heavy, yet still with a presence that would inevitably catch attention.

She soaked in the tub, her arms lazily draped over its rim.

The Succubus entered the room and, rather than speaking, paused with a smile, as though waiting for something.

It came less than a moment later...

"Ahhh~" She moaned loudly; in that moment, no one had touched her, yet the feeling of the room itself was enough.

Instantly, her tail tightened while her knees buckled.

Her juices ran down the inside of her thigh and spotted the stone, while she clutched the tablet to her stomach.

"Lady Vivian..." she said, her voice catching as she swallowed hard.

"A new universe has just emerged within the Multiverse."

Vivian remained silent, lingering in the pink water, her reddish-pink eyes fixed on the glass and the fifty suspended worlds that lay beyond it.

Her red hair drifted around her shoulders, one arm along the rim as if the report had been nothing at all.

The chamber smelled of pure desire, almost as if everything was made from Lust.

However, none of this was new—clearly, even the Succubus standing near the door, who had just climaxed, wasn’t the least bit unusual.

Vivian had experienced all of this since the day she was born, simply because she came from a race and bloodline forged from Lust.

She wasn’t a demon like a succubus or incubus, but rather a sin—specifically one of the many Sins of Lust.

As the Daughter of the Multiversal Emperor of Bound Hearts, she has spent the last five thousand years overseeing the entire Multiverse, ruling over the Pantheon of New Skies.

’What... a disgusting thing,’ Vivan thought, letting the silence grow while refusing to spare the Succubus even a glance.

It lingered until the Succubus’s tail coiled snugly around her own ankle, and the tablet gave a single tremor in her hands.

Only then did Vivian turn her head, gaze sliding off the void and onto wet thighs and lowered lashes with the same mild attention she would have given a stain.

"Well, go on then," she said. "Tell me what’s so special about this Universe."

The emergence of new universes within a Multiverse was nothing unusual; in fact, it happened far more frequently than one might imagine.

Whether they were newly forming or, like Akasha’s, appearing spontaneously, such occurrences were part of the natural flow.

Typically, there would be some indication or signal heralding a universe’s birth or its arrival into the Multiverse.

"Less than an hour ago, the readings detected a random universe," the Succubus remarked, nodding softly.

"It appeared in Sector Six... but there was no prior warning—it simply manifested."

In that moment, curiosity appeared briefly in Vivan’s eyes before vanishing.

"Move according to protocol," she said, lifting a hand from the water and flicking the droplets from her fingers toward the door.

"If a pantheon is ruling the universe, make them fall in line with the others. Don’t forget, the ten-year deadline is a month out... and Asmodeus doesn’t want any issues."

"Yes, Lady Vivian."

The Succubus left the way she had come, only slower, almost as if she was trying to bask in the presence of Vivian.

Vivian watched her linger and scoffed, shaking her head as the Succubus left the room.

She then slowly turned her attention back towards the looming universes that made up the Multiverse of Bounded Hearts.

---

[A/N: From now on, Dream Land will be the name of the universe on the outside.]

"Now," Akasha said, sitting beneath the Universal Tree with Kalpa, Melvin, and Calyx, while Harlan, Nara, and Amaterasu stood before him.

"Those three doors... will adapt to your desires," he added, gesturing toward the trio of doors at the edge of the floating plains.

Purple, green, and red stood in their row against the pitch-black of the inner universe, the white prison door a fourth quiet fact they were not being offered.

Pink leaves hung overhead, the pond holding its water still.

"Lord Dream..." Harlan spoke, his gaze lingering longest on the purple door, his short white hair neat.

"Would you mind clarifying?"

Nara gave a nod, and Amaterasu’s flames danced in response as she inclined her head as well, her reddish-gold eyes narrowing at the red door.

"Well, once you step through," Akasha said, "the place on the other side will take whatever shape you want. And... it will remain connected to this universe."

He went on to explain that these doors had the power to shape absolutely anything, whether it was a universe-sized academy or even an entirely new universe itself.

Whatever it turned out to be, it wouldn’t just be formed—it would already come populated with their Pantheon Members, who had already undergone a few changes thanks to Akasha.

"Why..." Amaterasu began, her voice low as all eyes turned toward Akasha.

"Why are you doing all of this?"

She couldn’t make sense of it.

After tearing away everything she had ever worked for, everything she had built with her own hands, he had turned around and given not just her, but everyone, so much in return.

It was baffling, almost absurd, and she struggled to understand why.

"Don’t you know?" Akasha teased with a smile, winking at her.

"I am the Lord of Dreams."

In that moment, Amaterasu’s lips thinned, but before she could explode, he shifted to a more serious tone.

"Alright, don’t burn me alive," Akasha said. "How about we leave the past where it is... Ahem, I’m Akasha. Nice to meet you."