The Incubus System Chapter 1080. Not a Peaceful Sleep

The Incubus System Chapter 1080. Not a Peaceful Sleep

Ethan’s PoV

Zalira slept soundly in my arms, her body relaxed against me, her breathing soft and steady. Her tail coiled loosely around the base of the couch, adding a strange but comforting presence. Her crimson hair spilled across my chest.

I tightened my arms around her just slightly, careful not to wake her. For someone who carried herself with such authority and strength, she looked almost… fragile like this. Not physically, but mentally, emotionally—she’d been carrying a burden so immense that it was a wonder she hadn’t broken under its weight.

“She’s strong,” I murmured under my breath, more to myself than anyone else. Not in the way people usually thought of strength, but in a way that mattered more. The kind of strength it took to make impossible decisions.

My gaze drifted to her peaceful face, and for a moment, I let myself admire her. It wasn’t just about Puriel, though that alone was enough to crush most people. Puriel, the source of the holy vaccine, wasn’t just a treasure—it was a beacon of hope, a resource every kingdom and nation in the world would kill for. Zalira had carried that burden for years, knowing that if Puriel’s existence ever became widely known, it wouldn’t just mean trouble. It would mean war.

And yet, she’d made choices—hard ones, controversial ones. Limiting the vaccine’s availability, raising its price, controlling its distribution… I couldn’t say I agreed with everything she’d done, but I understood it now. She wasn’t being cruel or selfish; she was trying to keep her kingdom strong, to protect her people from the chaos that would follow if Puriel became a free-for-all.

I sighed, my gaze shifting to the ornate ceiling above us. The faint glow of enchanted crystals cast soft shadows across the room, the kind of quiet luxury I barely noticed anymore. “Yeah,” I muttered to myself, my voice barely a whisper. “She’s strong. Stronger than most.”

But even the strongest needed rest, and for the first time, Zalira had allowed herself to let go. She’d trusted me enough to do that, and that trust wasn’t something I planned to take lightly.

I stared at the ceiling a moment longer, my thoughts swirling. ‘Should I leave? Or stay?’ It wasn’t an easy question. Part of me felt like I should go. But another part of me… didn’t want to leave.

‘Well, maybe I should stay,’ I thought after a while. I didn’t have any pressing plans today, and I hadn’t slept since last night. My body was starting to feel the fatigue, even if my mind was still running a mile a minute. Zalira had found peace here, and maybe, just maybe, I could too.

I glanced at the door, double-checking that it was locked. The guards had already seen me a couple of days ago, and I was in my incubus form, so there shouldn’t be any issues. ‘Should be okay,’ I thought, my gaze flicking back to her sleeping form.

“Yeah,” I murmured, letting out a long breath.

Carefully, I adjusted my position, shifting slightly to make myself more comfortable without disturbing her. Her tail tightened reflexively for a moment before relaxing again, and I smiled softly at the unconscious gesture.

I let my head fall back against the cushion, my eyes closing. It wasn’t often I let myself relax like this, and I wasn’t entirely sure how to do it.

For what felt like forever, I let myself drift. And as my eyes closed, I thought, ‘Maybe this is what it means to share the burden. To let someone else carry it with you, even if just for a little while.’

Sleep claimed me soon after.

Since Puriel was free… I expected a dreamless and peaceful sleep. But I was wrong.

At first, it was nothing. Just the deep void of rest, the kind of silence that comes when my body finally succumbs to exhaustion. But then, faintly, I heard it—a voice. Distant, muffled, like someone was speaking through layers of static. It was soft at first, just a murmur on the edge of my awareness.

‘Who?’ I thought, my mind sluggish as it tried to grasp the sound. It didn’t feel like it belonged to the waking world, yet it wasn’t part of a dream either. The voice was persistent, though, growing louder even as it cut in and out, like a bad connection over an old telephone line.

“---angel---”

That was the first word I could make out, fragmented and faint. My brow furrowed, even in sleep. ‘Angel?’

“---how---angel---”

The voice came again, still fragmented but slightly clearer. It carried a strange tone—curiosity laced with confusion. I shifted slightly, still not fully awake but no longer at peace. ‘What angel?’ I thought, trying to focus on the sound, but it kept slipping away.

The voice grew louder, the static fading just enough for me to catch a full phrase.

“How could an angel be born in the human world?”

I gasped, my eyes snapping open. My heart raced as the remnants of the voice echoed in my mind, clear and unrelenting. The room was quiet, Zalira still asleep in my arms, her breathing soft and steady. But I couldn’t shake the words. They clung to me, pulling me from the calm I’d finally found.

‘An angel… born in the human world?’ My thoughts churned, trying to make sense of it. It didn’t feel like a normal dream. It was too vivid, too specific. And the voice—it wasn’t mine. It wasn’t Zalira’s, Puriel’s, or anyone else I recognized.  It was completely foreign, yet it carried an almost divine resonance that made the hairs on my neck stand up.

I glanced down at Zalira, who was still sound asleep in my arms, her tail loosely coiled around my legs. Her breathing was steady, her face peaceful. She hadn’t stirred from the strange voice or my sudden movement. ‘Good,’ I thought. She needed this rest far more than I did.