[Sylvan Kingdom]

[Inside the Elven Quarters – Royal Wing.]

Lewin sat by the wide window, a soft stream of evening light spilling onto the stack of papers in front of him.

The elf's long silver hair was tied loosely, and his gaze remained fixed on the papers.

He quietly flipped through the parchment, his expression calm but focused.

Each page he turned carried the same bitter truth that was only chaos, decay, and failure.

His eyes paused on a detailed report marked with a crimson seal.

"Malik again…" he muttered.

Standing to his side was Sir Thalion, a tall elven knight clad in ceremonial armor, polished yet worn at the edges.

He had served under Lewin for nearly a decade and was one of the few Lewin trusted entirely.

Without looking up, Lewin asked, "How are things progressing with the Malik town?"

Thalion shifted slightly, his voice low but firm.

"Not well, my lord. The townspeople are still… unstable," he said quietly. "Things with the Great One Kros aren't going well."

Lewin hummed in response as he slowly turned the page. "Anything worthwhile?"

"The people who were in his presence seem to have lost their minds now," he replied, his voice firm. "They attack anyone that comes close to them."

That made Lewin pause as he looked at the man once again. "What about the soldiers who are placed there?"

Thalion waited for a second before he let out a tired sigh.

"Most of the soldiers we sent report vivid nightmares or claim they've heard whispers near the corpse."

Lewin rested his hand against his chin, brows tightening.

"What about survivors from the initial collapse? Any witnesses from the first contact?"

"None," Thalion replied. "We've gone through the ruins and the outer villages. Whoever wasn't lost to the collapse either fled long ago or lost their minds. It's a dead place."

A long silence followed.

Lewin stared out the window, watching the birds flutter across the distant city roofs.

Then, quietly, he spoke, "It shouldn't be like this. A single corpse of some dead being shouldn't be able to cause this much disruption. This was supposed to be a clean-up job. Straightforward."

Thalion said nothing.

Lewin set the papers aside with a sigh. He leaned back against his chair and looked toward his knight. "And my brother? Is he doing what he was told?"

Thalion's face twitched for a brief moment.

"He… tries. But he's too stupid."

There was a pause in his voice as he thought if he should say it or not.

"…He second-guesses every command and insists on keeping his people at a distance from the corpse. He isn't suitable for this kind of job."

Lewin let out a sigh. "Well, I wouldn't have let him be had my father not forced me."

The family condition of Lewin's family wasn't really a good one.

His father is still head of the family and most of the decisions are made by him.

Lewin hated his father for always trying to boss him around.

Lewin shook his head. "Do something and make my brother terrified enough to not come back."

He stood and paced toward the shelf on the far side of the room. "Make sure he doesn't mess this up. I don't care how many soldiers he loses."

"Yes, my lord," Thalion replied.

Lewin picked up a scroll sealed in gold and unrolled it carefully.

The script was old, laced with ancient divine markings—remnants of a language only a few elves could still interpret.

"Now… what about the Empress?" Lewin asked without looking away from the scroll.

Thalion folded his hands behind his back. "She's remained distant. Most of her days are spent in her Chamber."

Lewin glanced over his shoulder. "Still avoiding direct contact, huh?"

"I may be wrong, sir, but…" he drew in a deep breath before he said. "She might have got some information about the town from somewhere."

Lewin looked back at him with a smile. "Ah, I was wondering why she sounded so distant when I last saw her."

Thalion let out a sigh as he asked, "What should we do about it?"

"Nothing," Lewin said. "Even if she gets wind of it, there is nothing she can do."

Thalion didn't seem to be convinced. "But sir—"

"Don't worry about it," he said, waving his hand. "Now, get out."

Thalion hesitated for a second before he nodded his head. "As you wish."

He walked out of the room, leaving him alone.

Lewin remained still for a while before he moved towards the closet.

He took out a lady's dress that was already worn before.

…By none other than the Empress herself.

Lewin walked towards his chair and sat down.

He brought the dress closer and sniffed it deeply.

Closing his eyes, he remained still for a while.

"Soon," he whispered as a lustful look appeared on his face. "You will be mine soon."

---

---

[Vyavan Dukedom.]

Akamir stretched his body as he looked at the dummies in front of him.

Most of them were brutally destroyed as he practiced his mana core output.

"Man, I really need a training partner," Akamir mumbled as he began to walk away.

It's been more than half an hour since he has been training.

Akamir wiped the sweat from his brow, his shirt clinging lightly to his skin.

The broken remains of training dummies lay scattered across the ground behind him like casualties of a one-sided war.

"I should get sturdier dummies next time…" he muttered, glancing over his shoulder at the wooden limbs and shattered targets. "Or maybe enchanted ones."

A familiar voice called out from the balcony above, "You're going to destroy half the mansion if you keep training like that."

Akamir looked up to see Nayomi, lazily floating upside-down in the air, arms folded behind her head and legs crossed like she didn't have a care in the world.

"You got a better idea?" he asked.

"Plenty," she replied. "But they all involve more destruction and less wooden dolls."

Akamir chuckled softly and stretched his arms again. "I'm trying to refine my mana output, not cause a civil war."

"You're getting stronger," Nayomi said, flipping midair to float properly now. "But so are your enemies."

Akamir nodded, walking over to the small bench near the courtyard's edge.

He picked up a flask of water and took a long sip.

"I know," he said quietly. "That's what worries me."

For a moment, Nayomi hovered beside him in silence, her expression unusually serious.

Akamir has a clear idea of how strong he is right now, but he can't say he is the strongest.

He still needs to learn a lot of things that he isn't really good at.

He let out a sigh as he looked at the sky.

The sun was already down, and it was dark now.

Akamir glanced at Nayomi. "I think I will reach purple core in a month or less."

Nayomi blinked innocently as she was caught off guard. "…Really?"

"Yeah," Akamir nodded his head. "I already feel my Core is filling really fast."

Akamir was sure his speed of progress was already abnormal.

But even then, he kept on growing even faster now.

Akamir rubbed the back of his neck in frustration.

'I feel like my body is changed beyond human limits.'

Then again, Akamir wasn't even sure if he was human.

'…The descendant of Wraith, huh?'

Nayomi floated in place for a moment, her expression shifting from surprise to intrigue.

"Well, well," she murmured, eyes narrowing. "You really are a monster."

Akamir leaned back against the bench, arms folded, eyes fixed on the stars beginning to appear in the night sky.

"What do you think?" Akamir said, looking at her. "Why was I summoned in this world?"

Nayomi remained silent for a while as she herself wasn't sure.

Akamir, though, kept on thinking about the possibilities.

A small part of him wanted it all to be nothing but a coincidence.

But…

A rational part of his mind wanted to believe he was a pawn of something big.

Something that was beyond his understanding right now.

Akamir let out a sigh as he looked away from Nayomi, who remained silent.

He wiped out his sweat as he looked around the place.

When he found no one, he summoned his crown and a portal opened in front of him.

Akamir walked towards it while Nayomi floated close by.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

Akamir shrugged. "To see Inara."

Nayomi didn't say anything else as he walked inside.

When his eyes adjusted to the light, he was inside the palace.

Akamir looked around as he clicked his tongue. "Damn, they should really increase the security."

He rubbed his temples as he walked towards Inara's room.

It didn't take him long before he reached it as he looked at it.

Akamir knocked on the door twice. "Inara, it's me."

There was a silence before a voice replied, "Come in."

Akamir opened the door as he walked in.

'Hmmm?'

The first thing he noticed was Inara sitting on her bed.

She smiled at him. "I thought you wouldn't come today."

Akamir immediately noticed the sadness in her voice. "What happened?"

Inara didn't say anything for a while.

Then she smiled bitterly. "…Father died."