The ruins smoldered around Ethan Cross as he sheathed his black saber with a satisfying click.
Smoke curled into the black sky, carrying the scent of ash and blood. The battlefield was silent, save for the crackle of burning wood and the occasional groan of the dying.
Ethan flexed his fingers, feeling the Boundless System thrumming under his skin like a second heartbeat.
He felt invincible.
But the system had only just begun to reveal its true power.
A soft chime echoed in his mind.
[Quest Unlocked: Path of Dominion - First Step]
[Description:]
The world has forgotten you. You shall make it remember.
Claim your first Bonded. Strengthen your Core through Pleasure and Conquest.
[Objective:]
Subjugate a Bonded Partner (0/1)
[Reward:]
Unlock "Dominion Core: Stage 1"
Skill: [Bounded Heart]
+1 Random Legendary Item
[Failure:]
System Regression. Strength Loss.
Ethan blinked.
Subjugate... a partner?
He almost laughed aloud.
Was this some kind of joke?
No— the Boundless System wasn't playing games. It was deadly serious. He could feel the weight behind the words, like chains tightening around his destiny.
Pleasure and conquest, it had said.
The old legends he'd once heard whispered in the mercenary camps returned to him — stories of ancient emperors who ruled not just by the sword, but by claiming powerful women, binding them to their will, strengthening their spirits through carnal rites.
He had thought those stories were myths.
Apparently not.
A slow, dangerous grin crept across Ethan's face.
If this was the path he had to walk... he would walk it.
Gladly.
Ethan turned toward the eastern tower — the only structure left relatively intact.
He remembered: a group of prisoners had been brought there before the battle.
Mostly women.
Political hostages, trophies from conquered territories... and among them, rumored to be a sorceress.
Perfect.
He strode across the battlefield like a revenant, his cloak billowing behind him, his boots crunching over the bones of the fallen.
The tower doors loomed ahead, battered but standing.
Ethan pushed them open with a single brutal shove.
The inside reeked of fear and mildew.
Crates of stolen treasure were stacked along the walls. Shackles hung from iron hooks. Torn banners draped from the ceiling like dead snakes.
And in the center of the room, huddled behind a rusted cage, was a girl.
No — a woman.
She wasn't like the others. She didn't cower or cry. She knelt, shackled, her posture proud despite the bruises marring her pale skin. Her hair was silver, flowing like moonlight down her back. Her eyes — fierce and violet — locked onto Ethan's with a gaze that could cut steel.
A faint aura of power shimmered around her.
The sorceress.
Ethan stepped closer, savoring the way she watched him — not with fear, but with cold defiance.
She was wounded, exhausted... but she wasn't broken.
Not yet.
Good.
He didn't want someone broken.
He wanted someone worth conquering.
"Who are you?" Ethan asked, voice low.
The sorceress smirked despite her bloody lip.
"You don't know?" she rasped. "Then you're either a fool... or worse."
Ethan chuckled.
"Maybe. But you're in no position to insult me, little witch."
Her eyes flashed with fury.
He stepped into the cage.
She tensed, preparing some last, desperate spell.
But the Boundless System pulsed, feeding him instinctual knowledge.
He raised his hand.
A golden sigil flared to life in the air, complex and ancient.
The sorceress gasped as her magic fizzled and died.
[Skill Activated: Dominion Seal Lv.1][Target's magical abilities temporarily suppressed.]
Her mouth dropped open — only for a moment — then she set her jaw stubbornly.
Ethan knelt before her, close enough to feel the heat of her breath.
"You have two choices," he said softly, dangerously. "Submit... or be left to rot here until the scavengers come."
She spat at him.
The glob of blood hit his cheek.
Ethan wiped it away slowly, never breaking eye contact.
"Good," he murmured. "I prefer a challenge."
His fingers brushed her chin, tilting her head upward.
She tried to pull away — but the Dominion Seal tightened around her, sapping her strength.
Ethan leaned closer, his voice a whisper.
"What's your name?"
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then, with grudging pride, she whispered, "Lyra."
Lyra.
The name suited her — fierce and beautiful, like a blade hidden in velvet.
Ethan smiled.
"Lyra," he repeated. "Swear yourself to me. Bind yourself. And in return... I'll give you the power to burn this cursed world to the ground."
She stared at him, trembling.
Not from fear.
From the unbearable temptation of his words.
Revenge.
Freedom.
Power.
Everything she wanted... offered by the man kneeling before her.
The room seemed to shrink around them, the world outside fading to nothing.
Only this moment mattered.
And then, slowly, almost imperceptibly, Lyra bowed her head.
"I swear," she whispered.
The Boundless System flared.
[Bonded Partner Acquired: Lyra the Silver Sorceress!][Processing First Bond...][New Skill Unlocked: Bounded Heart Lv.1][Legendary Item Acquired: Ring of Evernight]
[Dominion Core Stage 1 Unlocked.]
Health +100
Mana +200
Physical Attributes +20%
New Features Available.
The rush of power was instantaneous.
Ethan felt it surge through him, electrifying every nerve, sharpening every sense.
Lyra gasped, clutching her chest as the Dominion Bond branded itself deep within her soul — a glowing sigil blooming across her collarbone like a living tattoo.
When she raised her head, her violet eyes shimmered with a faint golden light.
Ethan rose to his feet, towering over her.
"You are mine now," he said, voice rough with the power thrumming through him.
Lyra nodded once, slowly, as if testing the new reality wrapping around her.
"I am yours," she whispered.
Later, Ethan sat on the stone steps of the tower, Lyra at his side, wrapped in a cloak he'd scavenged from the ruins.
The fires of the battlefield still burned in the distance, but here, a strange peace had settled.
Ethan opened his status screen, watching as new tabs and options unfurled.
[Dominion Core: Stage 1]
Bonded Partners: 1/3
Territory: None (Claim Required)
Personal Stats Boosted
Unique Ability: [Dominion Sanctuary] — Create a safe haven, strengthening all bonded within.
Territory? Ethan mused.
That made sense.
An Emperor needed a kingdom.
Even if he had to carve it out of the bones of the world himself.
"What's your goal?" Lyra asked quietly, breaking the silence.
Ethan glanced at her.
Her silver hair caught the firelight, casting her in a halo of molten gold.
He thought for a moment.
What was his goal?
Survival?
No.
It wasn't enough anymore.
He wanted more.
Everything.
"I will build an empire," he said finally. "One that can never be betrayed. One that no one can tear down."
Lyra studied him for a long moment.
Then, with the faintest smile, she said, "Then you'll need more than just me."
Ethan smirked.
"I plan to."
The Boundless System chimed again.
[New Quest Unlocked: Path of Dominion — Seize Your First Territory!]
[Objective:]
Conquer a Dungeon Outpost.
Establish Dominion Sanctuary.
[Reward:]
Title: Lord of the First Gate
New Skill: [Summon: Bonded Warriors]
Ethan rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders, feeling the limitless potential coiled inside him.
The world was broken.
Perfect.
It would be easier to build a new one from the ruins.
And he would do it.
With steel.
With magic.
With pleasure.
With blood.
And soon... with an army of the most powerful, most beautiful, most dangerous women the world had ever seen, bound to him by desire and destiny.
The Boundless Emperor was rising.
And nothing would stand in his way.