Limitless Fortune: I Collect SSS-Rank Skills as Payment-Chapter 184: Lucien Is All Alone With Lilith!

After being saved by him, she had unknowingly grown dependent on Lucien, trusting him without even realizing it herself.

Lucien clicked his tongue when she slapped his hand, though there was no real annoyance in his eyes. Instead, there was amusement, mixed with something darker that he did not bother to hide.

"Serious, huh?" he muttered. "You say that, but you are not really stopping me."

Lilith stiffened slightly at his words, finally realizing what she had unconsciously allowed. Her cheeks flushed faintly as she stepped back half a pace, creating just enough distance to breathe.

"Don't misunderstand," she said quickly. "I am only… used to it now. That's all."

Lucien raised an eyebrow. "Used to what?"

"Used to you being shameless," she replied flatly, though her voice lacked its usual sharpness.

He laughed, low and relaxed, as if the desert around them did not exist at all. The sound echoed faintly in the empty expanse, swallowed by the endless dunes.

"Careful, Lilith. If you keep saying things like that, people might think you like me."

She shot him a glare, but it lacked conviction. "You are impossible."

"And yet, here you are. Alive. Breathing. Standing right in front of me."

That wiped the retort from her lips.

Lilith looked away, her gaze drifting back to the horizon. The desert felt oppressive now that the adrenaline had faded. The sky above them was an unnatural pale gold, neither day nor night, and the air shimmered faintly as if reality itself were unstable.

"Lucien," she said quietly, "this place feels wrong."

"Yeah," he replied, tone turning serious for once. "I noticed."

He stepped beside her, finally withdrawing his hand completely, and followed her line of sight. No matter where they looked, the scenery remained unchanged. No wind. No sound. No sign of life.

"This isn't a normal desert," he continued. "Even a dead land should have something. Bones. Ruins. Traces. But this place feels… sealed."

Lilith hugged her arms lightly, suddenly feeling exposed despite being fully dressed. "Do you think it's another Scene?"

"Possibly," Lucien said. "Or a buffer zone. Or something worse."

She swallowed. "Worse than the Mirage Pond?"

Lucien did not answer immediately. His silence alone was enough.

After a moment, he spoke again. "Can you still feel your mana?"

Lilith closed her eyes and focused. A faint glow flickered around her fingers, weak but present. "Yes. But it's sluggish. Like it's being suppressed."

"Same here," Lucien said. "That confirms it."

"Confirms what?"

"That we didn't leave danger behind. We just changed locations."

Lilith exhaled slowly. "Great. That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

Despite her words, there was relief in knowing Lucien felt the same pressure she did. It meant she was not imagining things.

They stood there for a while, neither speaking, each lost in their own thoughts.

Lucien broke the silence first. "You mentioned the Seed of Lust earlier."

Lilith tensed. "Why?"

"Because whatever that pond did to you," he said, "it might not be over."

She turned to him sharply. "What do you mean?"

"You were affected long after you should have drowned. You were still conscious. Still reacting. That's not normal."

Lilith's fingers curled. She remembered the heat, the confusion, the way her thoughts blurred into something primal. Even now, recalling it made her uneasy.

"You think it changed me?" she asked quietly.

"I think it awakened something," Lucien replied. "Or strengthened it."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "And you are saying this so casually?"

Lucien shrugged. "I am not judging. Power always comes with a price. Mine isn't exactly clean either."

She studied his face, searching for mockery or desire. What she found instead was seriousness.

"Then what should we do?" she asked.

"For now?" he said. "Move. Standing still in places like this is never a good idea."

"Move where?" she snapped, gesturing at the endless sand.

Lucien smirked. "Forward."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one we've got."

He started walking without waiting, boots crunching softly against the sand. After a moment of hesitation, Lilith followed.

As they walked, the silence returned, heavier this time. With nothing to distract her, Lilith became painfully aware of Lucien's presence. His height. His pace. The faint heat radiating from him when the wind brushed past.

She hated that it affected her.

"So," Lucien said suddenly, glancing sideways, "about earlier."

She stiffened. "What about it?"

"You didn't push me away."

Her heart skipped. "I already told you not to misunderstand."

"I am not," he replied. "I am just… taking note."

She stopped walking. "Lucien."

He turned, meeting her eyes.

"If you ever cross a line I don't allow," she said slowly, "I will not forgive you. No matter what you have done for me."

For a brief moment, the teasing vanished from his face. What replaced it was sharp and clear.

"Good," he said. "That's how it should be."

She blinked, surprised by his response.

"I don't want obedience," Lucien continued. "I want choice. If you ever stand with me, it should be because you decided to. Not because you owe me."

Lilith stared at him, her chest tightening in a way she did not understand.

"…You are strange," she murmured.

"Yeah," he agreed lightly. "I get that a lot."

They resumed walking.

After some time, Lilith noticed something odd. "Lucien. The sand."

He looked down. "What about it?"

"There are no footprints."

He stopped immediately. She was right. No matter how far they walked, the ground behind them was smooth, untouched.

"Looks like we are not leaving traces," he muttered. "Either the terrain resets… or we aren't moving at all."

A chill ran down Lilith's spine. "You mean… we are walking in place?"

"Possibly."

As if responding to his words, the air ahead of them shimmered violently. The desert warped, folding inward like a reflection on water.

Lilith instinctively stepped closer to Lucien.

From the distortion, a structure slowly emerged. Black stone. Tall pillars. An altar-like platform at its center.

"A ruin," Lilith whispered.

"Or a checkpoint," Lucien said. "Either way, looks like the place wants us to go there."

They exchanged a look and approached cautiously.

As they drew closer, faint runes lit up across the stone, pulsing with a familiar pressure that made Lilith's mark tingle.

"Lucien," she said under her breath, "this place reacts to me."

"Figures," he replied. "You attract trouble like it's a talent."

She shot him a glare but said nothing.

When they stepped onto the platform, a voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere.

"Trial candidates detected."

Lilith's breath caught.

"Eligibility under review."

Lucien cursed quietly. "You've got to be kidding me."

The runes flared brighter.

"Dual presence confirmed. Synchronization required."

Lilith looked at Lucien in alarm. "What does that mean?"

Before he could answer, the platform glowed, and chains of light rose from the ground, stopping just short of touching them.

Lucien exhaled slowly. "Means this place wants to see what we are to each other."

Lilith's heart pounded. "And what are we?"

He looked at her, eyes steady.

"That," he said, "is probably the real test."

The light surged.

And the desert vanished.

The light surged.

When Lilith opened her eyes again, the desert was gone.

They stood inside a vast circular hall carved from black stone, its ceiling so high it vanished into darkness. Pillars ringed the space, each engraved with runes that pulsed faintly, as if breathing. The air felt heavy, pressing down on her shoulders, making every breath deliberate.

Lilith instinctively grabbed Lucien's sleeve.

"Looks like we passed the welcome gate," Lucien said, scanning the surroundings calmly, though his hand tightened around hers in return. "Still alive. That's a good sign."

"Don't jinx it," she muttered.

The chains of light hovered around them, not binding, but close enough to make Lilith uneasy. She could feel them responding to her heartbeat, to her mana, to something deeper that made her skin prickle.

Then the voice returned.

"Synchronization incomplete."

Lilith's breath caught. "What does that mean this time?"

Lucien frowned. "Means we're not aligned enough. Whatever this trial is, it doesn't see us as a unit yet."

"A unit?" she echoed. "We are not some kind of bonded pair."

The runes flared brighter, as if mocking her denial.

"Emotional resonance detected. Instability present."

Lucien let out a low laugh. "Wow. Even the dungeon thinks you're lying."

Lilith glared at him, but her grip on his sleeve tightened instead of loosening. "This is not funny."

"I know," he replied, tone sobering. "That's why we need to be careful."

The platform beneath their feet shifted slightly, forming two overlapping circles etched into the stone. Symbols appeared between them, complex and ancient.

Lilith stared at them, dread creeping up her spine. "Lucien… I think this trial is forcing cooperation. Not combat. Not survival. Something else."

He met her gaze. "Trust?"

Her heart skipped.

Before she could respond, the symbols pulsed once, sharply.

"Begin synchronization trial."

The hall trembled, and the chains of light slowly drew closer, not restraining them, but narrowing the space until they stood almost chest to chest.

Lilith swallowed hard.

"This place," she whispered, "it's not testing our strength."

Lucien nodded slowly. "It's testing whether we break… or stand together."

And for the first time since entering the Genesis Rift, Lilith realized that the most dangerous thing here was not the dungeon.

It was what she might be forced to admit.