Jealousy

Left without much time to think about it Xilo's idea was quite simple easy and simple in concept. If you wanted to strengthen a connection with someone you had to be closer with them. Whether that be through experiences together, talking or intimacy. There were other ways of course but Xilo didn't have the time for any of that. Which led him to kissing Xelfia and being close to each other. At the same time though he had to deal with the surplus of energy inside of their bodies and that's where the energy they were exchanging came into play.

If he gave Xelfia his extra energy while he processed what he could Xilo could deal with the energy in increments. After he was done dealing with them he would swap places with Xelfia and let her deal with what she needed. If she also wanted to use the energy for other things then it was a bonus. Xilo could never process it all alone within reason. "We'll both deal with our problems in short bursts together." It was far from a perfect idea and Xilo knew that all too well. Regardless it worked for them and that was good enough. Feeling Xelfia's energy enter inside of his body Xilo stored it all as he endured the overload.

With her mind in focus now Xelfia understood what Xilo was trying to do. Giving him the excess energy she took as much as she could for herself and began to harness its power. That creeping pleasure came back, haunting her mind like a craving that wouldn't go away. Despite that craving, Xelfia did her best to not lose her mind again. Once was already embarrassing enough, she really didn't need to experience it a second time. The scales on her skin faded back into their regular crimson colour as they gained their shine back. The darkness in her body was melting and combining with her energy, not just taking complete control this time. Once she felt the pleasure taking over Xelfia took back the excess of energy and let Xilo have a break.

The overwhelming energy quickly overtook the pleasure and helped keep her mind at ease. Xilo tasted Xelfia as he strengthened himself and took over the core. Replacing all of its energy lines with a layer of his own energy. Anything excess he took for himself in order to get stronger. Once he felt the Zone fighting back he gave all the energy back to Xelfia in order to focus. Just like that the two of them laid in each other's arms and constantly swapped energy back and forth for over an hour. The core had almost been completely taken over and Xelfia had almost synced up with the darkness perfectly, so much that if things continue like this she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

"Take that Althea!"

Giving the energy to Xilo, Xelfia let the darkness spread around in her body as it reached her mind once again. This was the part she was the most afraid of. If she wasn't careful she could severely break herself. She already almost lost her memories once when she was losing it. "Just be calm." Taking it slow, Xelfia let it spread in her mind as she checked her memories and emotions. The darkness seeped deep with tinges of red peeking through. "Looks good." The darkness this time was a lot more ductile and less vile. Like a Mother guiding her child, Xelfia watched over the Darkness. "I got this." Unable to contain her happiness, Xelfia detached from Xilo's body to take a quick breath of air before going back.

Feeling the energy come back into her body once more Xelfia knew there wasn't much left. "This is the last time." Making that final push, Xelfia let the darkness completely consume her while Xilo gained control of the Astral Zone. Althea had long fallen asleep to save her energy only after making sure things were going smoothly. Another Althea though was currently a bit pissed off as she felt the connection complete itself. "She managed to do it." Holding in her anger Althea didn't know how she bypassed all the conditions required for the link. "That shouldn't have been possible." There was nothing she could do but sulk at Xelfia's success.

"Xilo probably did something..."

That was the only reason she could think of for it to go so smoothly.

"He really plans to oppose my desires until his last breath. Too bad it'll all be for naught, come for me Xilo, abandon everything to destroy me and free yourself. Follow the strings of fate that I've laid out for you. In the end, we'll be together and this world....will bend to your will. No more running...You'll always be the destroyer. A True Demon. Then you'll see how fast these "tools" of yours break and run."

Counting down the days until Xilo was strong enough Althea tried searching her memories of her time with him.

"I still can't remember."

She hated to admit it, however at that moment she was truly jealous of Xelfia.

Xilo opened his eyes as he felt his breathing grow heavy. Separating himself from Xelfia, he could feel her breath on his face as he looked at her face. Her eyes had slightly changed, gaining a new small mark that crossed over her slight eyes, forming a small +. Her hair was still crimson however in some places bits of silver had grown in, mimicking his own hair style. Her razor sharp eyes had turned even more deadly than before as she stared at him. Her scales had mostly kept their colour except for the dark hue radiating off them. There was one spot on the left side of her face that had completely black scales but that was all. Her horn on that side had also elongated and grew more thick.

"How do you feel Xelfia."

"A bit weird but it's a nice feeling, I can feel you inside of me quite strongly. It also feels like I got a lot stronger."

"That's good, don't push yourself too much though. I don't know what changes have happened to your body because of this Link so for now just take it easy."

"Eh don't worry so much, I'll be fine now. I still have all my memories and my emotions seem normal."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Xelfia stopped using the darkness as she fully reverted back to normal. Even gaining back her full crimson hair and regular eyes. "Looks like she only changes appearance when using the Darkness inside her." Taking note of that, Xilo sat up and looked around the room. Tearia and Felli were the only ones here along with their Fox friend. "I wonder where everyone went?" Thinking that to himself he felt the Astral Zone stir. In a moment he saw the entire layout of the Zone in his mind. "Oh?" He saw his Clan out in the wild beating up any Astral beast they could find as they laughed in enjoyment. "Looks like it worked for me as well." Getting rid of that scene he called the girl's over.

"Sorry if I worried you two, we're alright now."