Kain had set up a small fire atop the summit of Mt. Ordeals. Dusk had only begun to set in, the overcast gray skies dimming to dark blue, but alone here with only the undead and ogres for company, he was not going to take any chances. There was an ever present mist in the air, and it always thickened around nightfall. Even after soaring through space to the moon and saving the earth, he was not going to take any chances.

He was well acquainted with the locals by now, having spent several months here. So he was often prepared enough that he didn’t need to worry. The various zombies and revenants skulking around were more frequent at night but even with their brains rotting past mush, they still had enough sense to stay away from the flames he slept close by. Ogres were not so bright, and more than a few times hearing their footsteps approaching him well before he saw them, was able to stand up to them, lance in hand. He never associated those creatures with agility, but he was surprised at how quick they ran when they wanted to.

Yet there was still one issue that gave him cause for concern, where even someone like him didn’t feel safe. He would frequently hear a slight hissing sound in the distance, no matter what the time. He had been around Scarmiglione the Fiend of Earth when he was brainwashed into Golbez’s service, knew that Cecil had tangled with the creature on these same rocks, but whatever this noise was, it sounded nothing like him.

Huddling around the fire, he set up a small cot. He had slowly begun to take his armor off so he could bundle up. The mountains were cold, and here on the summit, that was especially true. The metal plates would often accentuate the chill wind’s gale through the plain clothes he wore underneath that sometimes it was like he could feel it right to the bone, and in the darkness under the moon, wearing it would become downright intolerable.

He had laid down by the fire with his lance by his side. He closed his eyes, and had begun dozing. There was a strange sound in the distance. It was far away so he felt no sense of danger, but even in his muddled dreams of Rosa and Cecil frolicking together while he was forced to watch and accept it in the name of being heir friend, he was still aware of it.

Then it was close enough that his eyes darted open. It was a full moon out, and there was more than enough light now that he could clearly see around him. It was that hissing sound again. He couldn’t be sure where it was coming from, but he took his lance and stood up, ready for a fight. The blood was pumping in his veins, he couldn’t sleep now even if he wanted to.

The hissing sound became clearer. The mist was as thick as ever away from the fire, but his eyesight was keen enough right now to discern anything that might show itself. Whatever was making that sound was behind a rocky wall. But he did not expect to see what he did.

Slowly, it made its visage known. First, fingers under the moonlight gripped the rocky wall. They were eerily human and intact when the only other humanoid digits he had seen here beyond his own were either the decomposing rotting appendages of the zombies skulking around or the stubby and thick hands of ogres. A head had begun to peek from behind the rock, it’s dark green hair splayed across it’s shoulders. He lowered his guard, his first instinct thinking it was Rydia but as the face became clearer he knew that wasn’t the case.

The face was a woman’s. Beautiful and immaculate, it touched something in his heart to see another person after several months alone here. Her eyes, filled with a curious intelligence, as well as her full kissable lips, were both a shining blood red and as she got closer, he could see that her skin was pale even in the moonlight. The green hair sparkled with light like an emerald, splayed over her bare shoulders. She edged further into view. Her torso was naked, with only her long hair concealing her full and ample breasts. But as she got closer into view, he saw that she had no legs, only a long purple tail, scaly and serpentine. And he quickly noticed the eyes he thought of as beautiful at first had reptilian slits, as well as finally realizing her head was crowned by two feathery antennae.

He was hit with a sudden awareness. He had seen these creatures before. At the Tower of Bab-il, and at the caves of Eblan. But he never expected to see one of them in a desolate place like this.

“I know you,” he said, picking up his lance. He would not be distracted by her fair appearance.

“Do you now?” she said. “I do not know you.” The snake woman had not stopped hissing, a low soft sound.

“I am Kain Highwind, here to rid myself of my darkness and never let myself fall into evil again.”

“And I am Lilith,” she said. He was surprised to hear one of them introduce herself with an actual name. He was used to them singing with hypnotic voices, cooing with sweet words of praise, and together with their beauty, it could get to his head. It was bad enough having to fight alongside Rosa and pretend that he wasn’t in love with her anymore on their journey, he also apparently had to deal with beautiful snake women trying to seduce him. At least he counted himself lucky to not let it affect him so bad that he’d actually go to their side and fight against his friends. Edge was pretty bad about that, always distracted by a pretty face.

“Why have you been following me?” he said.

“I have long seen you here. I wondered what kind of person would be at a place like this, all alone.” That wasn’t an answer, but he was too on edge to care. Yet he realized he wasn’t as alarmed by her presence as he should have been. With his skills and experience he could have easily put an end to her, and he might well have done so if he hadn’t been alone. But away from any real contact with the outside world for so long, he was curious.

Lilith had started to hiss in a sort of lyrical cadence. He had noticed that but gave it no greater importance, as he was used to these creatures singing with their voices to affect the mind. Yet with each moment of silence of him trying to find the right words to address this creature, the hissing sounded more and more like music, and he found it harder to find the right words to say to her.

And as his nervousness grew, so did his focus on her. In the glow cast by the moonlight and the flickering flames, her white skin looked brass colored and her beautiful green hair shone in a rainbow of greens, dark and bright. Her shapely hips that rounded into an hourglass figure right before it melted into her tail. Her inviting smile and eyes all too alive with naughty intentions that dug into his psyche and tempted him.

The beautiful woman had been edging closer towards him while he was gawking. Without any aggressive movements from her, he felt at peace in her presence. When they were face to face, she clasped his hand. He felt ready to drop his lance at any moment.

“What do you want?” he said. His voice was shaky as his hands.

She cupped his face with her other hand and leaned forward so that her lips were right next to his ear. Her skin was cool to the touch.

“Warmth,” she said. It was just one word but it was enough for him to drop his weapon. It clacked on the stony surface underneath them but he didn’t hear it. She had taken his whole ear into her mouth and started slowly sucking on it. She delicately grazed his outer ear with her fangs and lips while licking all over the interior with her long forked tongue.

Lilith’s long hair fell over Kain’s shoulders. It was soft like her skin. Her tail was long enough that it had wrapped around his legs and waist as she fondled him, and it was thick enough that he would have a bit of a struggle getting loose from her if he put up a fight. He could now feel the pressure of her naked breasts through his shirt against his bare chest, her large red nipples stiff with arousal. His penis, already erect from her affectionate advances, got more than a little hard feeling that. She felt his boner too, growing against the scaly flesh of her tail that had wrapped around it, and he heard her giggle right into his ear through the sucking on it, as the hand that was cupping his face reached through his long blonde hair and felt the back of his head. And she had started to caress the bulge in his pants.

She stopped slobbering on his ear only to whisper right into it, “Take your shirt off.” He hurriedly did as he was told without a second thought. He tossed it onto the ground beside them.

Lilith was feeling all over his muscular arms and shoulders, honed from years of experience as a dragoon in Baron’s army and from his journeys to save the earth from Zemus’s machinations. Kain’s lust for this woman pumped heat through his body, and feeling her skin directly against his, was able to make him forget the cold air. Now exposed before her, the snake woman’s breasts and nipples pressed against his chest, and their faces were only inches from each other.