Emperor Night (NTR)

Check out my books on Kindle.

Jonathan lay sprawled across his bed, deep in peaceful slumber. The silk sheets of the Dread Tower's master bedroom clung to his bare chest. A cool breeze drifted through the open window, carrying the sweet scent of night-blooming flowers.

The door burst open with a bang. Lily stood in the doorway.

"Jonathan! Wake up!" She jumped onto the mattress, making him bounce.

"What the fuck?" Jonathan bolted upright, sheets pooling around his waist. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his sleep-addled mind. "Lily? It's the middle of the night."

"Have you checked your guidebook lately?" She asked, crawling closer on her hands and knees. Her blue hair cascaded over her shoulders, her face was intense, she had certainly been up all night.

"Uh, no. Not since you... you know, came out of it." He gestured vaguely at her corporeal form.

"You haven't looked at it once?" Lily's eyes widened in disbelief. She sat back on her heels, crossing her arms under her breasts. "The magical book that tracks everything about you, and you just... forgot about it?"

"I've been busy! Becoming Lord of the Dread Tower and all that." He yawned, still not fully awake. "Besides, I had the real thing right here. Why would I need the book when I have you?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, you're such a noob. I can't believe you're running an fledgling nation and you don't even check your stats." She shook her head. "What if something important changed? What if you unlocked a new achievement? What if your arousal control got an upgrade you don't know about?"

That last suggestion made Jonathan perk up. "Wait, you think I have unlocked new power?"

"I don't know." Lily smirked. "Maybe if someone checked their guidebook once in a while, they'd find out."

"Alright, alright." Jonathan swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Where did I put that thing anyway?"

Jonathan shuffled over to the bookshelf, running his fingers along the spines until he found the familiar leather-bound guidebook. A thin layer of dust coated its surface.

"Three months." He wiped it clean with his palm. "Has it really been that long?"

"Longer." Lily chimed in from the bed. "Now open it!"

He cracked open the book, pages rustling as they settled on his stats page. The text glowed faintly in the dim room:

"Name: Jonn Nightmare

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Occupation: Sorcerer

Special Abilities:

Arousal Control - The ability to heighten or lower the sexual arousal levels of nearby characters. To use this ability, simply touch the person you wish to target after chanting 'erectus' (to heighten their sexual arousal level) or 'conievo' (to lower their sexual arousal level). The default setting, if no words are chanted, is to heighten the target's sexual arousal.

Upgrade - Lustful Gaze - When making eye contact with someone, if you think a sexual thought they are effected by your power as if you had touched them. Limited range of 50 metres.

Upgrade - Contagious - When someone who is under the effect of your ability, touches someone that is not under the effect of your ability, the arousal effect is passed on. These new targets do not themselves pass on the arousal."

Jonathan's shoulders slumped. "Well, that's disappointing. Nothing new except..." He squinted at the page. "Wait, when did I turn twenty-three?" The months in Adearath were slightly different to Earth. The Adearath calendar was split into 10 equal months, each with 37 days. A total of 370 days per year. He did not know how all that lined up with the calendar back on Earth.

Lily flopped back onto the bed with an exasperated sigh. "I really thought there'd be something new. Some kind of achievement or upgrade or... anything."

"Why were you so interested anyway?" Jonathan closed the book and set it on his bedside table. "Is this about getting home?"

"Yeah." She rolled onto her stomach, propping her chin on her hands. "My current theory was that if we complete enough achievements, maybe finish the 'game' so to speak, we might unlock a way home."

Jonathan sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm not even sure I want to go back." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I've got the tower now, and people who depend on me. Plus, you know..." He gestured vaguely. "The whole magic powers thing is pretty cool."

Lily's wings twitched. "Look, I get it. You're having fun playing emperor and getting your rocks off with your pervy power. But we need to think long-term here."

"What do you mean?"

"Isekguy Studios created this world, Jonathan. We technically stole this world and warped it." She sat up, her expression serious. "They're still developing it, still making changes. Who knows what they might do? They could reset everything tomorrow, or send an apocalyptic event, hell they could turn everything into fucking 'Hello Island Kitty Adventure' with enough time." She trailed off, hugging herself. "We need a way out. An escape route. Just in case."

Jonathan leaned back against the headboard, processing Lily's words. "But why would Isekguy go through all this trouble just to make a game? This tech is insane. They can literally create worlds and transport people between realities. Shouldn't they be using it for something more important?"

Lily's wings fluttered as she shifted position, crossing her legs beneath her. "You're not entirely wrong. But it's more complicated than that." She twisted a strand of blue hair around her finger. "There are a lot of limitations to what they can do. From what I understand – and believe me, they didn't tell me much – this whole 'game' thing is basically an advanced research program."

"Research? For what?"

"The military." Lily's expression darkened. "That's why they can get away with spiriting people off to another world without consequences. No one's going to investigate too deeply when the government is actively covering it up."

Jonathan sat up straighter. "Holy shit. Are you saying we're part of some secret military experiment?"

"Kind of?" Lily shrugged. "I mean, they're not testing weapons or anything. At least, I don't think so. It's more about the technology itself. How to create and maintain links between alternate realities. How to move things, and people, back and forth between them."

"But they can't move people back yet, can they?" Jonathan's hand unconsciously went to the sorcerer's mark on his chest. "That's why we're still here."

"Likely." Lily flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling. "They don't have total control over Adearath either. It's like... imagine trying to edit a document while someone else is writing in it at the same time. They can make changes, but they can't completely override what's already here. The world has its own momentum."

"That's why they need test subjects," Jonathan realized. "To see how the world reacts to outside interference. To figure out the rules."

"And to work out how to break them." Lily turned her head to look at him. "They're getting better at it, too. When I first started, they could barely maintain the connection between worlds. Now they can send people through, create new monsters, even pull me out of the guidebook." She gestured to her physical form. "They're making progress. But they're not there yet."

Jonathan rubbed his temples. "So we're basically guinea pigs in some military-funded reality manipulation experiment disguised as a game company?"

"Pretty much." Lily sat up again. "That's why we need to figure out our own way home. Because when they do finally crack it? When they figure out how to fully control this place?" She shuddered. "I don't want to be here when that happens."

"Fuck me." Jonathan blinked. "The biggest threat that we face are the Shapers." Jonathan remembered the words that the Tracker had told him whilst he was in resistance captivity.

"The Shapers?" Lily sat up straighter, her wings fluttering with interest.

"When I was captured by the resistance, Tellik mentioned them. He'd been investigating the sudden changes happening across Adearath, like strange creatures appearing out of nowhere. He called the ones responsible 'the Shapers' because they seemed to be reshaping reality itself."

"He figured it out?" Lily's eyes widened. "Without any knowledge of Earth or modern technology?"

"Not exactly. He just knew something was wrong." Jonathan shifted on the bed. "He said the Empire was too focused on hunting sorcerers to see the real threat. The Shapers were changing Adearath, experimenting with it. Turns out he was right."

"Fuck." Lily flopped back onto the mattress. "A medieval fantasy warrior figured out what was happening. I'm impressed."

"Yeah." Jonathan yawned, stretching his arms above his head. "The Tracker's deadliness is matched by his intelligence. Now will you let me get back to sleep?"

Lily rolled off the bed with a dramatic sigh. "Fine, fine. But we're not done talking about this." She padded toward the door. "And start checking your guidebook more often!"

"Yes, mom." Jonathan muttered, already sliding back under the silk sheets.

The door clicked shut behind her, leaving Jonathan alone with his thoughts. The cool night breeze still drifted through the window, but sleep felt a lot further away now.