The Sword Saint Also Has A Succubus Class

For the first time in many hundreds of years, Vale gasped in a breath of air. After so long drifting in a void, consciousness was like a slap in the face. She fell to her knees, the onslaught of senses overwhelming her.

"There we are," a voice said cheerfully. "Tricky enchantment to unravel, that one."

Vale barely heard the words. There were too many things vying for her attention. The glare of the sun above her, the feel of cold mountain wind through her hair and clothes, touch and taste and sight and hearing reestablished after so long without any of it.

But also the rush of her thoughts, her memories.

The… assault on the Mountain.

"Master," she gasped.

She tried to rise, but failed, collapsing back onto her knees. Her hand fumbled to her side, but she found no sword sheathed there. Being unarmed made her feel more naked than any lack of clothing could: her hand continued to grasp even when it became clear there was nothing to find.

Where had her sword gone? It was like missing an arm.

"Easy, now," the voice hummed. "Deep breaths, and all of that. I think. I'm not sure what helps with hundreds of years spent in stasis. In and out. In and out. There we go, you're doing great."

Vale wrenched her eyes up. The sight in front of her managed to jolt her into some sort of focus, everything else falling to the wayside. The speaker was a woman, though the soft, gorgeous, lyrical quality to her voice had already given that away.

But 'a woman' felt like such an inadequate description.

She was beautiful. In the way of a sunrise, an ice-capped mountain, or a meadow of wildflowers. But also in more human ways. More… carnal ways. The swell of her breasts, her flat stomach, wide hips, thighs.

And her face—that was what truly stopped Vale's heart.

So pretty.

Vale might have grown up in a tiny village, ignorant of the larger world, but she had also spent the past six years under the tutelage of the Saint of Winter Frost. She had learned much.

And so, she knew an Immortal when she saw one.

An Immortal who… who was also naked?

"Lady?" Vale stammered, dumbfounded.

"Lady? Lady? Mm," the woman said, eyebrows going up as she repeated the word, as if tasting it. "Yes, I do like that. Usually it's Mistress, but I'll make an exception for a cutie like you."

Vale gaped, at a complete loss for words.

Even the strangeness of this encounter, of having a beautiful Immortal standing naked in front of her, could only distract her for so long. Vale's eyes slid sideways to the ruins of her Master's house.

The… ruins?

The house hadn't just been destroyed. It had decayed, the sort of decay that came from untold years of weathering. And it was a building that had served as the home of a Saint. It should have lasted hundreds of years, even when neglected. How much time had passed?

Vale swallowed. She looked behind herself. Where the Master's pond should have been, there was simply smoothed-over mountain top. Nothing around her looked like it should. Wilderness had reclaimed this remote place. The only hint of her old home was the ruins of her Master's house, and even that was near unrecognizable.

"What… happened?" The question came unbidden, a statement of disbelief.

"Well, that's the thing," the Lady said. "I was hoping you would tell me. I was passing through, you see, and found you here frozen in a giant block of ice. Powerful enchantment, not laid by an amateur, certainly not. Took some undoing, even for me."

Vale's skin went cold as her memories started to come back. The assault on the Mountain, the man in a black coat adorned by a gold-rose emblem. Her Master being driven backward by the other man's perfect swordwork, and then, in desperation, him turning to Vale with a hand outstretched, ice blossoming from it.

"It had the taste of sacrifice, I believe," the Lady mused. "Part of what made it so strong. But that's just a guess. Enchantments fade with time, and it's been a very long time, I do believe. Even by my standards." She peered at Vale, her blue eyes intrigued. "Surprised your mind didn't fall apart. Truly excellent spellwork, to manage that. How long was it for you?"

"An instant," Vale said numbly. "And forever."

The longer she spent awake, the more she remembered. This wasn't news to her, what had happened to her Master. In the long dark, her consciousness floating in the ether, not awake but not asleep either, she had spent many years considering—for a sense of the word considering—the events that had led her there.

So the pain wasn't sharp and fresh. She had already grieved her Master, had done so for many years. But only in some liminal inbetween-state of existence. It was more real, now, to feel her heart ache in her chest. But she wasn't in shock, or newly grieving. It was an old ache.

Finally, Vale mustered the strength to climb to her feet.

She was tall for a woman, which meant she looked down slightly on the Immortal in front of her.

"Pardon, Lady," Vale said, her cheeks coloring as the world started to make sense around her again, the surprise of her sudden consciousness fading—and thus the other woman's nakedness coming into clearer focus. "But… why aren't you wearing any clothes?"

The Immortal considered the question seriously, tapping a finger to her lips. "The better question, I think, is why are you wearing clothes? They're awfully boring, in my opinion."

"I'm… sorry?"

"And isn't there something you're forgetting?"

"Lady?"

"Didn't I just save you from being stuck in a block of ice for the next thousand years?"

Vale blinked. Then, ashamed, she bowed deeply, hands clasped to her side. "My apologies, Lady Immortal. You've done me a great service. If there's anything I can do to repay this debt, even in part, just tell me."

There was a short pause as Vale kept her eyes locked humbly to the floor.

Then, shockingly, the Lady squealed. Vale glanced up in surprise to see the Immortal practically squirming in place, radiant joy on her face.

"The stoic and serious ones are just too cute!" she exclaimed. Putting on a deep voice, as if to imitate Vale, though Vale didn't even have a deep voice, she said, "You've done me a great service. If there's anything I can do to repay you, just tell me." She squealed again, shaking her chest side to side and jumping in place. The… bouncing… that the movements created made Vale's blush deepen. "Something was drawing me here," she said, hammering a fist onto an open palm, "and now I know why. Yes, I've made my decision. I don't even care how you ended up in a block of ice, anymore."

"Lady?"

"How would you," she said, "like to take my Blessing?"

Vale tentatively straightened out, confusion furrowing her brow. "I'm… not sure what that means. What is a Blessing, when given by an Immortal?"

"Immortal?" The Lady seemed briefly confused. "Oh," she said, waving a hand. "I'm not anything you've seen before, so dispel any prior notions, please."

"You… what?"

"Immortal, yes, but not in the sense you or your people use the term. I can hear it in your voice. Immortal." She hummed. "Put simply, I am a wandering goddess."

Vale's eyes widened. "An emissary of the heavens?"

"No. Emissary of myself. I am simply me."

"I see." She didn't, not in the slightest.

"And I am struck by whims, from time to time," the Lady continued. "This is a place of power, and that's part of what drew me here, but there's more, I believe. Fate, perhaps. Even having just met you, I'm already certain you would be a wonderful candidate for my Blessing."

Vale looked around, as if seeking help. This situation was just so bizarre. The sight of her home, worn-down by centuries of neglect, made her quickly look back. The grief might be old, aged by her time in stasis, but it was still there.

"Lady, I am in your debt," Vale said, bowing again. "Who knows how long my Master's spell would have kept me locked here?" It had obviously been a hasty, last-ditch solution, and her Master hadn't been able to control it properly. It had saved her life nonetheless. "If you request something of me, I will repay you however I can."

"No, no," the Lady said, shaking her head effusively. "All debts are cleared, I don't want anything to do with that. Debts are dangerous for both parties involved. I helped you purely out of self-interest, because I wanted to see what was going on. And this offer is separate as well."

"I… okay?" Vale was only growing more confused by the second. She had too many things to process even without this strange encounter thrown into the mix.

"So do you accept?" the Lady asked excitedly.

"Can I ask what the Blessing is?"

She pouted. "That would ruin the fun. But I can promise you this, if it makes you feel better: it'll grant you no small amount of power."

That made her heart jump in anticipation, but also made her grow wary. Boons offered by enigmatic, supremely powerful beings were all but a cautionary tale. Except the Lady didn't fit the 'malicious' image of such a creature.

But speaking of power…

"Do you know why I can't feel my spiritual core, Lady?"

"Spiritual core?" she repeated. "No, sorry, I don't know how power works on this world. Never heard of a 'spiritual core.' This is my first visit."

The words stunned Vale. 'This world?' She supposed she had claimed to be a wandering goddess, and where else would heavenly beings wander except between worlds?

"Strange things have happened here, though," the Lady continued, her tone growing curious as she looked out across the mountains. "I can feel it in the air. If something feels wrong inside you," she tapped her own chest, indicating, to Vale at least, her spiritual core, "then it's probably thanks to that. The shape of power in this world might have changed since you were last awake. Taken new form."

"I… see." Again, she didn't in the slightest. But any freely offered information by someone of such strength was invaluable. "Thank you," she said.

"Now! No spoiling what it does, since the reaction is half the fun. Do you want my Blessing?"

Vale considered the offer with the gravity it deserved. She had woken hundreds or for all she knew thousands of years in the future, and had no Master, no allies, no anything. Even her spiritual core, the personal strength she'd gained over years, was gone. Not even her sword remained, only the simple white robes covering her body.

Was she in a position to turn down an offer of power? Especially from a woman who had already saved her life, at least in conjunction with her Master's sacrifice? If a living, breathing goddess wanted to hurt her, would she need to play games to do so?

Vale bowed. "I would be honored, Lady Immortal. And I thank you for your continued mercy."

The mischievous grin that lit up on the woman's face instantly worried Vale.

"You can call me Lust," she said, breezily, over-casual in a way that said she was teasing.

"Lust?" Vale repeated.

What kind of name was that?

"And it's time for these to go, now," the goddess continued.

She stepped forward and daintily tapped Vale's shoulder.

Just like that, every inch of clothing on her body dissolved into pink light and floated away, leaving her standing naked in front of the other woman.

She looked down at herself, at her bare skin that had been covered only a second prior, her brain not catching up on what had just happened.

"Much better," Lust said approvingly. "Look at those tits! Can't believe you were hiding them from me. So mean!"