Contents
Chapter 35: The Gorgon
Overview
Kharn Sagara sends the concubine homunculus Naia to Hadrian, attempting seduction and testing him. Hadrian discovers an implant like Kharn’s, realizes Kharn is controlling Naia, and rejects the violation. The confrontation exposes Kharn’s invasive reach and Hadrian’s limits of consent and control, escalating their psychological conflict.
Summary
Hadrian is seized from behind in his quarters but finds the assailant is Naia, a pale, alluring homunculus sent by Kharn Sagara. She advances with calculated intimacy, and Hadrian struggles between attraction, fear, and principle, recalling past abuses of power and the coercive design of such constructs.
Naia’s persistence intensifies; she disrobes via holograph and presses him, drawing him into a fog of arousal. Seeking distance, Hadrian distracts her by sketching, but she abruptly resumes, straddling him. As he touches her hair, he feels a metallic spur behind her ear and remembers Kharn’s implant.
Horrified, Hadrian throws Naia off and accuses her of being a SOM proxy. Naia’s pupils change; Kharn takes control, speaking through her with a parodic version of her voice. He taunts Hadrian, hinting Naia was chosen to resemble Valka, and frames the encounter as an “honor.”
Hadrian, angered and violated, confronts Kharn about abusing guests and the woman’s autonomy. Kharn deflects with aesthetic banter about art and fear while testing Hadrian’s resolve and timing for his companions’ return. Hadrian retrieves his sword and holds ground.
Kharn finally withdraws control, offering to leave the girl. Hadrian refuses and orders him out, establishing a boundary and sharpening their escalating power struggle.
Who Appears
- Hadrian MarloweResists a coerced seduction, discovers Kharn controlling Naia via implant, confronts the Undying and forces him to leave.
- NaiaConcubine homunculus sent by Kharn; attempts to seduce Hadrian; revealed as a remote puppet via cranial implant.
- Kharn SagaraUndying lord; inhabits Naia through an implant to test and taunt Hadrian, then withdraws when confronted.