The rainforest whispered secrets as the chopper blades cut through the mist.
Arthur leaned back in the seat, his gaze steady as endless green stretched below. The system interface glowed in the corner of his vision.
Target Locked: Yesenia Calderón
Alias: La Santa Negra
Age: 28
Religion: Unregistered Pantheonist
Sect Followers: 1.7 million across South & Central America
Influence: Underground Ritual Networks, Religious Trafficking Routes, Spiritual Black Markets
Emotional Profile: Mystic, calculating, fanatically loyal to chosen ideals
Projected Empire Role: Supreme Overseer of Faith & Global Spiritual Affairs
Loyalty Probability: 49% → 100% (Post-Vow)Threat Level: Medium (Capable of ritual retaliation)
Yesenia was unlike any of the other women.
She didn't want wealth.
She didn't want control.
She wanted belief.
And Arthur would give her exactly that.
Hidden Temple – Amazonas, 2:12 PM
The chopper landed on a stone platform carved into the heart of the jungle. Vines coiled around ancient columns. The air was thick with incense and humidity.
Dozens of white-robed followers knelt as Arthur approached.
At the end of the stone causeway, beneath a looming arch of bones and flowers, sat Yesenia — barefoot, cloaked in violet silk, her long black hair cascading around her shoulders like midnight water.
She didn't rise.
She smiled.
"I was wondering when you'd come, golden king."
Arthur said nothing. He stopped ten feet from her and simply stared.
She examined him with serpentine grace. Her eyes, a rare shade of ochre gold, studied him like a scripture.
"You reek of industry and numbers," she said, rising slowly. "But you've touched the divine."
She circled him. The silence of the temple seemed to bend with her movements.
"You don't believe in gods."
"I am one," he said simply.
Yesenia smiled.
"Now that," she whispered, "is something I can follow."
The Seduction of Faith
Inside the temple's inner sanctum, Arthur was stripped of his weapons, watched by silent devotees. But he remained calm.
Yesenia offered no traditional hospitality. Instead, she led him to a stone circle filled with candles, oils, and ritual etchings.
"You want my loyalty?" she asked.
"I want your conviction," Arthur replied.
"Then kneel in the circle and confess what you seek."
Arthur stepped into the sacred ring without hesitation. The followers gasped.
"I seek to remake the world," he said. "To organize chaos. To turn power into design."
Yesenia stepped into the circle with him. Close. Too close.
"And what do you offer?"
"My empire," he said.
She leaned in, breath warm. "And your soul?"
"Only if you prove worthy of holding it."
For a long moment, silence.
Then she laughed — delighted, low, and unearthly.
"You're mine now," she whispered.
"No," he said. "You're mine."
Ritual of Binding
The ritual was unlike any other.
She invoked ten spirits from ten dead languages, asking for their permission. Arthur stood still as scented smoke surrounded them, heat pulsing in waves.
Finally, she placed her palm to his chest.
"I swear to serve not just the man," she said, voice echoing unnaturally, "but the will behind him. The legacy that shall live in every mind and every soul when names are forgotten."
Unbreakable Vow Initiated
Loyalty: 100%
Role Assigned: Global Religious Affairs & Spiritual Oversight
Rank: Dame
System Update
Arthur Ashford → Duke
Yesenia → Dame (Faith & Spirituality)
Aurora → Viscountess (Aristocracy)
Carmen → Countess (Diplomacy)
Candy → Countess (Global Sports)
Nora → Marchioness (Underworld)
Roxy → Duchess (Stock Market)
Bella → Duchess (Food World)
Passive Skill Unlocked: Divine Backlash Immunity
Nullifies all spiritual, ritualistic, and curse-based attacks on the host and immediate empire.
Yesenia later knelt before him, not in worship — but in full commitment.
"You have my people," she whispered. "You have my gods. Just promise me this…"
Arthur's gaze didn't waver.
"Yes?"
"When the world bows, let them chant my name."
Arthur smiled. "Done."