Reincarnated in the Astral World
Chapter 123: That Dress

**Knock, Knock**

Arthur gently taps on Aria's bedroom door. "Mom? Can we talk?" His voice is soft, almost intentionally subdued.

"..." No sound comes from inside the room. Arthur, unable to quell his curiosity, reaches for the door handle.

"Mom? I'm coming in—" He slowly opens the door, catching a brief glimpse of Aria's reflection in a mirror in the corner of the room.

Arthur's eyes sparkle as he notices she's wearing a new dress. It's so tight that it accentuates her curves dramatically, revealing much of her flawless skin.

"Arthur!?!" Aria seems taken by surprise, exclaiming as she turns to the door with a playful smile.

"Crap!" Arthur feels he's overstepped and quickly shuts the door behind him. His heart races, the image of Aria in her sensual dress seared into his mind like runes on hot metal—it won't leave his thoughts no matter what.

'What's the problem?' Nyx's voice echoes in Arthur's mind, puzzled.

'Huh?' He's equally confused, not understanding why that sight affected him so deeply. 'I'm not sure...'

'She's just teasing you,' Nyx remarks in a naughty tone. 'After all, how could she not know you were at the door, about to come in? She wants you to see her in her new outfit.'

'New outfit?' Flashes of disjointed images flood Arthur's mind, the scene before his eyes shifting as if he's being transported to another place, another time.

'New outfit…' He hears those words in two different voices, one as familiar as his own and the other a sweet, feminine voice almost identical to Aria's.

'Arthur??' Nyx's confused voice echoed in his mind, pulling him back to reality.

'Nyx?' Arthur blinked a few times, his vision returning to normal, just as he felt the door behind him open. He tried to turn around, but Aria was quicker, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him into the room.

*Bam*

She closed the door behind him, looking at his face with a puzzled expression. "You were peeking on Mommy, weren't you?" She says with her lips curled into a loving smile.

"I…" Once again, Arthur found himself at a loss for words, standing in front of Aria and marveling at how stunning she looked in that dress.

'Cheongsam,' that was the word that came to his mind, a type of dress common in the eastern regions of Liam's world. This type of dress was known for clinging tightly to a woman's body, accentuating all their curves like a second skin.

Aria's dress was even better than any from Earth because Josephine had crafted it with her finest materials: magical blue silk as soft as a baby's skin and shimmering like sunlight on crystal-clear water.

The collar was a few centimeters high, covering her neck with soft fabric, and had a delicate closure that was barely visible. It connected to a neckline that split into two straps running down the sides of her breasts, leaving a large, enticing area of skin exposed in the middle, right around her nipples.

The dress had no shoulders, and the bodice seemed to narrow even more below her chest. The front and back were two separate pieces of fabric connected from Aria's hips to just below her armpits by thin, interlaced black strings, revealing more of her flawless skin and perfect curves.

Around her hips, the fabric widened but then narrowed again into a long, dark strip that nearly touched the floor. Once more, the front and back were connected by interlaced black strings along the sides of her legs, each gap a tantalizing glimpse of paradise.

There weren't many adornments on the dress, like complex patterns, but this didn't detract from its beauty. The color shifted from blue in the center to black at the edges, with some black piping creating a clean, elegant design.

"Do you like it?" Aria's voice sounded in front of Arthur, but the image of her shifted before his eyes, the color of the dress turning green and some details changing as well.

"Mommy's new clothes…" Arthur didn't understand what was happening, how memories were surfacing in his mind due to the celestial image of the most beautiful woman in his life.

"Arthur? Darling?" Aria grew worried when she saw sadness in her son's eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"I…" Beyond the sadness, there was now immense love in his gaze, the purest and most powerful kind of love that could exist. "You look so beautiful, Mom… it reminded me of someone… but I don't know who she is…"

Aria was confused for a second; then, her expression turned sorrowful. "Oh my~!" She stepped toward Arthur and hugged him tightly, taking him by surprise.

"Mom?" He looks confused, but his body simply reacts to hers, and his arms instinctively wrap around her perfect body.

"You already act like a grown man..." Aria comments affectionately. "Sometimes I forget that you're just a kid still and all the pain and suffering you carry... it's not right! It's not fair that you bear the burdens of another life."

"I'm fine," Arthur says confidently as he hugs Aria even tighter, inhaling her wonderful natural scent over her shoulders. "I'm fine because you're here with me... my perfect mother."

"Ara~ Ara~" She giggles lovingly while caressing his back. "You always know the right words to make me feel like a good mother..."

"And you are a good mother, the best I could ever wish for," he comments warmly as he runs his nose over her bare shoulder towards her fragrant neck. "You're so good, Mom... I can't help but..."

"I know~!" Aria exclaims in a slightly hesitant tone while continuing to hug him tightly. "I can feel it... your body's reactions... it..."

A slight blush appears on Arthur's face; after all, he understands well what reactions Aria is feeling now, that hard member poking her belly. And there's no way someone in his situation wouldn't feel embarrassed and even ashamed to have such a reaction due to their mother.

Yet, Arthur feels no desire to retreat or hold back. "Don't tell me this is wrong..." He whispers in her ear.

"I wasn't going to say that..." Aria whispers while hiding her face in his chest. "But it... it still feels strange to me..."

He smiles lovingly. "Yet, you accepted this dress from Josephine... why?"

"Why?" Aria isn't sure about that. "Well... I asked her to make it..."

"Oh, you asked for it?" A confident glint appears in Arthur's eyes as he begins to run his hands down her back. "This fabric is incredible... I can feel your skin clearly through it... why would you do something so bold? To impress someone? A man?"

Aria bites her lips as she feels Arthur's fingers sliding on her back, sending waves of pleasure through her body. "Maybe it's just to make me feel beautiful... why does it have to involve a man?"

"Hmm..." Arthur smiles and then uses one hand to gently lift Aria's head by the chin and make her look into his eyes. "Do you plan to let another man see you like this?"

"No! Of course not!" She quickly exclaims, her blue eyes reflecting his. "This is too daring... I shouldn't even let you-"

"Shh!" Arthur uses a finger to seal Aria's lips. "If you didn't intend for anyone else to see you like this, it's only for me... and I loved it."

A slightly frustrated look appears on Aria's face, and she looks away, pouting in silence. 'It was supposed to provoke him, but now I'm the one at a disadvantage... how did things end up like this?'

While Aria gets embarrassed and Arthur enjoys it, Nyx exclaims excitedly in his mind. 'You're nailing it!'