Playboy Cultivator in the Apocalypse

Crux sat on a shipping container with a bored expression. She looked over the water, thinking about home and life in general.

As a proud Panthera princess, she was duty-bound to protect her people. While she was in the Mortal Plane with Kaze and Evalyn doing just that--building an alliance to protect her family--she still felt like she was forsaking them.

The only thing that kept her sane was her patience, something people develop with time. While she was young by cultivator standards, she had spent more years silently cultivating than most of the Immortals had been alive. Therefore, she was content to cultivate her days away.

However, there was something that was preventing her from concentrating that day. She looked down at the huge stack of fish with a twitching eyebrow.

"Why cannot I eat these subpar creatures?" Crux growled, "Not that I'm jealous of mortal food. I'm just aggrieved that foolish woman would ask me to sit around and watch these weak imbeciles ruin them."

She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, turning away in protest. However, her sensitive nose drove her back to the fish, making her cheek twitch.

"Subpar as it is, that is perhaps the only enriching food on this plane." The shadow cat mumbled bitterly, "These strange mortals can make air taste good, but it's not [food].

That foolish man gave these idiots a treasure, and they're treating it like a chore."

"In military operations, weak, ignorant fools are preferable to dead geniuses." A haunting yet alluring voice called out behind her. An overwhelming aroma immediately followed, making her turn around.

Crux's breath disappeared, looking at her charming emperor, wrapped in shades of orange, magenta, and purple from the sunset.

Kaze smiled at her, holding duffle bags packed to the brim with unknown contents. "Don't you agree?"

"I-I... um... treasures should go to alive geniuses first...." She muttered incoherently, "The strong should eat real food, especially if they're beastkin elders.... I mean... what did you say?"

The emperor chuckled charmingly, walking to the edge with her. "I brought you some mortal treasures; would you like to eat together?"

"I love mortal treasures!" Crux cried, getting confirmation. It wasn't until she processed what she had said that she blushed furiously. "I mean, I appreciate your generosity and would love to share a meal with you."

"Excellent." Kaze smiled mysteriously, "We'll start with this, then."

He pulled out a tray of sushi with multiple types of meat, making her eyes glitter and her mouth salivate. "Is this even from the same beasts?"

"It is." He chuckled, "But I did a lot of Soul Qi processing on it. Such techniques are common in the Heaven Plane and chores in the Transcendent Plane.

However, they are unheard of in the Sky and Mortal planes, so you're in for a treat."

Crux picked up one of the small rolls of rice and inspected it curiously, cocking her head and looking at it from various angles. Then she looked down at the massive pile of oversized fish on the pier. "Hmmm...."

Glance at the roll, back at the fish. Roll, fish. Roll, fish. Small roll, massive pile of fish.

"Is there a reason that you have restricted the amount of fish that I may enjoy?" She asked frankly, unable to contain herself, "While I do not feel slighted, it seems rather peculiar."

"It's for texture only." Kaze smiled amusedly, "This duffle bag contains dishes just like this, and it's exclusively for you."

The shadow cat turned to the massive military duffle bag, and her mouth opened involuntarily.

Glance at the roll, back at the duffle bag. Roll, bag. Roll, bag. Small roll, massive duffle bag.

"You needn't think so hard about it." He smiled gently, "One benefit of the Mortal Plane is that we have no competition. While we're here, I'll catch you fish as often as you wish.

However, the fish in your hand is rather rare. Take a bite."

Crux looked back at the tiny sushi roll and opened her mouth cutely, taking a dainty bite. Her eyes instantly shot open, and her cheeks flushed bright red. "Delicious!"

While she felt she had found sunken treasure, the surprises weren't over. A jolt of energy shot through her body and wrapped around her Soul Core, making it shudder.

The shadow cat's eyes trembled, and she turned to him with choppy neck movements. "Is this... meat... elemental?"

"That's right." Kaze smiled mysteriously, "Electric elemental Soul Beast meat."

Crux's heart pulsed, and her hands became shaky, making him chuckle and grab the plate so she wouldn't drop it. "I-I can't believe... electric elemental... even Killian...."

"Correct." He smirked proudly, "On the Mortal Plane, many elemental beasts haven't been poached into extinction. We will find these beasts, grow them, and harvest them before we return."

Her heart pulsed, and she looked at the plate. "But... is it okay that [I'm] eating this? It's so precious."

"You're far more precious, Crux." Kaze smiled gently, "Before you return to the Sky Plane, I will bring out your full potential, and build your strength. This is the least of what I plan to give you."

Crux opened and closed her mouth in disbelief, looking at him and then at the plate he held for her. She couldn't express what it felt like to be offered power so freely--and to live so simply.

Growing up in a bloodthirsty war-torn world, she never knew such a life could exist. It was inconceivable but humbling.

"Take another bite." Kaze smiled, picking up a piece and popping it into his mouth, "You wouldn't believe how many of these you can make with an eighty-foot fish. Such a number could disillusion a bookkeeper."

He looked at the electric eel on the pier and back at the roll. Eel, roll. Eel, roll.

"Don't make fun of me." Crux pouted cutely, grabbing the plate and yanking it from his hands.

She seized a piece decisively and threw it into her mouth with a grumpy expression, staring at the colorful, glimmering ocean. However, she purred strangely with a wide smile when it touched her tongue, rocking back and forth. "Myiiiiiiiiii!"

When the ecstasy wore off, she remembered where she was and blushed to the tip of her ears, looking for places to run.

"Hmmm...." Kaze hummed, knuckle and thumb on his chin, "Did I cook these wrong? They have strange effects on your emotions."

Her face heated up like a thermometer, and she turned away with a mortified expression.

She wanted to fly over the ocean until her Qi ran out, and she plummeted into the ocean, allowing the ferocious sea creatures to put her out of her misery.

However, there was a duffle bag of justice next to the emperor she'd have to give up if she ran! So she turned away and hugged the plate of sushi as if her life depended on it.

Kaze watched her quietly, enjoying her cute moment. After a minute of silence, she gave up on being a proud Pantheran princess and popped another roll into her mouth.

"Myiiiiiiiiii!" Crux purred, her body shivering with delight. She noticed him smiling behind her but ignored it, eating another in protest. Every time she did, she forgot that she cared about his opinion.

The shadow cat didn't break from the cycle until she realized something important--Kaze asked if she'd eat with him! She completely forgot until she was down to the last fourth of the rolls.

Crux grimaced, looking at the plate with a pounding heart. Summoning all of her willpower, she extended the plate toward him without looking. She didn't want to share, but it was only right!

Tragically, her greatest fear came true, and Kaze took the whole plate from her. However, her drooping cat ears shot up when she felt him wrap her fingers around a warm cup.

She pulled her hand back and her ears twitched in delight, staring at a to-go cup of chowder. "W-What's this!?"

"It's soup." Kaze smiled, "Try some; it's delicious."

Crux sipped it using both hands. Her eyes sparkled when it touched her tongue, and she squealed in delight. Her tail wiggled freely in her large frog hoodie, showcasing her delight.

For the next hour, the emperor handed Crux dishes and watched her with a mysterious smile, enjoying her smile.

Watching him during the meal, she got the impression that the Crux he knew didn't smile much. After all, his expression wasn't nostalgic. Instead, it captured a heart-piercing emotion she couldn't express in words.

While it made her sad, she enjoyed his smile. So she greedily accepted the food with a bright smile, triggering one from him each time. Before long, they were laughing every time she ate another dish, wrapped in a strange cyclical energy that fed itself.

"I'm glad that you're here, Crux." Kaze smiled strangely, looking over the moonlit ocean, "This life wouldn't be perfect without you."

Crux blushed furiously and glanced at him with ghostly speed. However, when her eyes met his location, he was already gone, vanished into thin air. "Purr~fect, huh?"

The proud Pantheran princess cupped her hands over her mouth, hearing the involuntary purr.

"I'm so glad that man wasn't here to hear that." She pouted, cheeks flushed, "He'd probably say more foolish things intelligent commoners wouldn't say to proud princesses."

In the corner of her eye, she saw something twinkling in the location Kaze was sitting. She reached over and grabbed it. "A ring?"