They slowly release each other.
Zumi steps into the elevator with Gia.
The staff watches, holding their breath.
Viktoria walks to the other side of the hallway, stopping where she can still see him.
She raises her hand…
And waves.
She actually waves.
A soft, shy wave.
And then—
Zumi smiles at her.
A warm, calm, devastating smile.
The staff witnesses Viktoria Volkov—
The cold, stoic, terrifying CEO—
blush.
Not a small blush.
A full, flustered, red-cheeked smile that lights up her entire face.
And the entire floor nearly collapses.
"She's BLUSHING!"
"Viktoria Volkov is BLUSHING at a man!"
"Who IS HE?!"
"She looked so happy—what is happening?!"
Gia steps into the elevator behind Zumi, smirking proudly.
The doors close in slow, soft silence.
The moment the elevator doors shut—
Viktoria inhales deeply.
One long breath.
Then her entire demeanor changes.
In a snap.
The softness disappears.
The blush vanishes.
The warmth freezes.
Her back straightens.
Her chin lifts.
Her shoulders lock into authority.
Her eyes go sharp.
Cold.
Powerful.
In one breath—
She is THE RED EMPRESS again.
Stoic.
Untouchable.
Commanding.
She turns toward her stunned employees and says in a perfectly calm, icy tone:
Viktoria:
"Everyone back to work."
Instant compliance.
Instant fear.
Instant order.
But as she walks away…
A faint ghost of that earlier smile flickers at the corner of her lips.
Just for a moment.
A secret.
A memory.
Zumi Kogane changed her forever.
The elevator doors slide shut.
Silence fills the small space for exactly one second—
Before Gia bursts into a smirk so smug it could bend steel.
She folds her arms, leans against the elevator wall, and looks Zumi dead in the eyes.
Gia:
"So… are you going to pretend you didn't see how she looked at you?"
Zumi's expression remains calm, collected.
Zumi:
"She's loyal now."
Gia scoffs.
Gia:
"Loyal? Zumi… that woman was ready to worship the floor you walked on."
She raises a brow, eyes sparkling with mischief.
Gia:
"She hugged you like you were oxygen and she'd been underwater for five years."
Zumi's lips lift in a controlled, almost amused smile.
Zumi:
"She ascended well. She's stable."
Gia laughs under her breath.
Gia:
"Stable? Please. If you had stayed two more minutes, she might've dragged you back into her office."
Zumi gives her a side-eye.
Zumi:
"Gia."
Gia:
"What? I'm just saying—greater goddess or not, Viktoria would kneel for you on command."
Zumi doesn't deny it.
Gia smirks even wider.
Gia:
"And that blush? My god, Zumi… I've never seen a woman go from 'ice queen' to 'sun-worshipper' so fast in my life. She looked like you rewrote her entire operating system."
Zumi leans against the elevator wall, exhaling calmly.
Zumi:
"She'll return to her CEO demeanor. She needs that identity."
Gia snorts.
Gia:
"Oh, she did. The moment the doors closed, she froze over like someone hit a reset button.
But that doesn't change what everyone else saw."
Zumi glances at her.
Zumi:
"And what exactly did they see?"
Gia smirks wickedly.
Gia:
"They saw a goddess fall in love with her king."
The elevator dings softly.
The moment the elevator doors closed earlier and Viktoria walked away, the entire floor detonated into whispers.
Now, as Zumi and Gia descend, the staff upstairs are gathering in clusters:
Reception.
Security stations.
Work pods.
Conference rooms.
Everyone is whispering.
Everyone.
Cluster 1: The Assistants
Assistant 1:
"He hugged her. HE HUGGED HER."
Assistant 2:
"She let him! She actually leaned into him—like she adored him!"
Assistant 3:
"And the forehead kiss—OH MY GOD."
Assistant 1:
"She looked so… happy. I didn't know her face could even do that."
Cluster 2: The Executives
These people have worked with Viktoria for years, some even decades.
They are shaken.
Exec 1:
"I've seen her crush billionaires with a phrase.
She's never melted for anyone."
Exec 2:
"So who is he?"
Exec 3:
"Rumor is he's buying the company.
But after that hug? He might already own her heart."
Exec 1:
"This is insane.
It's like seeing a glacier blush."
Cluster 3: The Scarlet Guard
These bodyguards know Viktoria better than anyone.
And they are rattled to their core.
Anton runs a hand through his hair.
Anton:
"In fifteen years… FIFTEEN YEARS…
I've never seen her touch a man voluntarily."
Yelena leans in, shaking slightly.
Yelena:
"She didn't just touch him…
she held him like she was afraid to let go."
Anton nods grimly.
Anton:
"That man isn't just someone important.
He's someone who can move the whole world…
and Viktoria would follow."
Yelena whispers:
Yelena:
"What if he becomes her downfall?"
Anton's jaw tightens.
Anton:
"…Or her salvation."
WHISPERS SPREAD THROUGH THE BUILDING
From the 60th floor to the first—
The rumor spreads like wildfire:
"The Man Who Tamed the Red Empress."
Some say:
"He must be royalty."
Others:
"No normal man has that kind of aura."
Others still:
"She looked at him like he was the only person in the room."
Someone adds:
"Honestly? He looked like a king walking through our halls."
By the time Zumi reaches the lobby…
Every employee on every floor has already heard:
He's the first man Viktoria Volkov has ever softened for.
He's the first man she's ever allowed to touch her.
He's the first man she's EVER blushed for.
And now—
He's the new CEO.
The doors slide open at the lobby.
Gia steps out first, amused.
Zumi steps out second, calm as ever — unaware of the swirling legend forming around him.
Employees freeze.
Some straighten their posture.
Some bow their heads.
Some simply stare.
And every single one of them thinks the same thing:
"That is the man who stole the heart of the Red Empress."
And Zumi?
He just keeps walking.
Like a king who doesn't need to say a word.
Zumi and Gia exit the building with the same calm, kinglike confidence as when they entered — walking into the city like they hadn't just shaken the core of New York's entertainment empire.
But upstairs…
Behind the closed doors of the top floor…
In the throne-like office of red, black, and gold…
Viktoria Volkov sits alone.
The porcelain tiles shimmer in the soft glow of the sunset spilling through the glass walls.
Her fingers rest on her desk.
Her breath trembles,she relives every moment.
The hug.
His warmth.
The forehead kiss.
His smile in the elevator. The way he spoke to her —
not as a subordinate,
not as a rival,
not as a tool to be used…
But as a queen.
A goddess.
A partner.
A woman worth standing beside him.
She presses a hand to her chest.
Her heart is pounding so hard she can hear it.
Viktoria (whispering to herself):
"…what did you do to me… Zumi…?"
She closes her eyes and exhales through a trembling smile.
She had surrendered everything — her company, her heart, her loyalty —
to a man she met only hours ago.
And the strangest part…
The wildest part…
The truly unbelievable part…
She didn't regret it.
Not for a second.
If anything?
She felt alive.
For the first time in years, she felt alive.
She can feel her divinity humming under her skin.
Her intellect is sharper than ever, her mind now processing futures, outcomes, strategies like an infinite network of shining threads.
Yet her emotions—so new, so vulnerable—bring heat to her cheeks.
She whispered:
Viktoria:
"…I've fallen for him.
Completely."
She laughs softly, shocked at her own words.
Viktoria:
"And I'd do it again."
She takes a deep breath, smooths her hair back, and sits upright.
Her goddess aura stabilizes.
Her CEO persona locks back into place.
Her eyes turn sharp again — but not cold.
Focused.
Determined.
She taps the intercom.
Viktoria:
"Get me the private shareholders. All of them. Now."
Her secretary nearly chokes.
Within seconds, calls begin connecting through her private line.
One by one, powerful voices of the Volkov empire greet her.
She speaks with absolute authority:
Viktoria:
"In approximately forty-eight hours, you will receive communications regarding the sale of your shares."
A pause.
You could hear the shock through the line.
Shareholder:
"Sale? To whom, Miss Volkov?"
Viktoria's voice turns velvet-smooth.
Deadly.
Precise.
Royal.
Viktoria:
"To Zumi Kogane.
My incoming CEO."
Silence.
Then frantic, overlapping voices:
"You're stepping down?!"
"Who is this man?!"
"You've never shared authority—!"
Viktoria cuts them off instantly.
Viktoria:
"I am stepping beside him.
Not beneath him."
Her tone softens, but the conviction strengthens:
Viktoria:
"He will hold 50% of this company.
I will remain Co-CEO.
All major decisions will go through either him or myself."
She locks eyes with her reflection in the window.
Her expression is calm, composed… and glowing faintly with divine pride.
Viktoria:
"This is final."
Her voice silences every speaker on the call.
She taps her tablet, opening her Public Relations channel.
Viktoria:
"Prepare a global press conference."
Her PR director nearly screams:
PR Director:
"Miss Volkov—what is happening?!"
Viktoria smiles softly.
The kind of smile a goddess makes.
Viktoria:
"In twenty days, I will formally introduce Zumi Kogane as the new CEO of Volkov Global Entertainment Group."
A pause.
Viktoria:
"And I will stand beside him as Co-CEO."
Her director gasps.
Viktoria:
"Make it flawless.
Make it grand.
Make it historic."
Her voice drops to a whisper meant only for herself:
Viktoria:
"Because this is the day the world meets my king."
As the last call disconnects, Viktoria leans back in her throne-like chair and touches the spot on her forehead where Zumi kissed her.
The warmth is still there.
Hours later.
The memory hits her chest so hard she laughs.
Her cheeks redden.
She whispers into the empty office:
Viktoria:
"…Zumi…
I hope you know what you started."
And for the first time in her life—
The Red Empress feels excitement.
Not fear.
Not pressure.
Not loneliness.
Excitement.
The kind that only comes
when a goddess finds her king.
The office is quiet.
The sun has slipped below the skyline, leaving New York suspended in twilight. City lights blink to life beyond the glass wall behind Viktoria—thousands upon thousands of glowing points, like data nodes activating one by one.
She sits in her chair.
Her chair.
The throne she has occupied for years.
Yet tonight—
Something is different.
She is different.
Viktoria Sergeyevna Volkov exhales slowly and closes her eyes.
And then—
It hits her.
⭐ The First Surge — What… was that?
A whisper of energy crawls up her spine, slow and deliberate, as though something ancient has just awakened inside her.
Her breath catches.
Her fingertips twitch against the armrests.
Her pupils contract—then widen—
The world seems to zoom inward and outward all at once, reality snapping into sharper focus and then expanding beyond it.
Her heart thumps once.
Hard.
"…Zumi…" she murmurs, her voice barely above a breath.
"What did you make me…?"
There is no fear in her tone.
Only wonder.
⭐ The Divine Intellect Ignites
Suddenly—
Her mind opens.
Not violently.
Not painfully.
But expansively.
Effortlessly.
Like a sealed vault unlocking at the lightest touch.
Light pulses behind her closed eyelids.
The room slows—
the way a camera drags time into syrup—
and Viktoria feels her thoughts accelerate, racing faster than the seconds can follow.
In one instant, she hears the steady hum of the air conditioning unit above.
At the same time, she counts the exact number of footsteps echoing down the hallway outside her office.
Simultaneously, she calculates how many lights are currently illuminated in the building, extrapolating from faint fluctuations in the electric grid.
While also—
She processes the entire financial structure of her company.
And also—
Projects stock movement trajectories for the next six months.
Her breathing quickens.
Her eyes fly open.
"…I can…" Her voice trembles.
"I can do all of this at once…"
⭐ Multithreaded Thinking — My mind… it's a supercomputer.
She rises from her desk and steps toward the glass, the city unfolding beneath her like a living circuit board.
And something extraordinary happens.
Every car moving through the streets below.
Every shifting shadow.
Every flickering light.
Her mind parses it all.
Instantly.
She sees patterns forming in traffic flows.
Understands pedestrian movement without effort.
Predicts which elevators will open three floors below—seconds before they do.
The city becomes a living equation.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
Solvable.
She inhales sharply as the realization crashes into her.
She can think in parallel.
Not two streams of thought.
Not three.
Hundreds.
Each independent.
Each pristine.
Each flawless.
Data flows through her consciousness like liquid gold.
"…I…" she whispers, barely able to contain the surge of exhilaration.
"I can process everything.
All at the same time."
Her former human limits—
They are gone.
Completely gone.
⭐ Testing the Power — Let's see how far this goes…
She turns back to her desk and unlocks her tablet.
Normally, document reviews take hours—sometimes days.
Tonight, she opens ten files at once.
Her eyes skim them for half a second.
She understands all ten.
Every figure.
Every clause.
Every legal nuance.
Every branching outcome.
Instantly.
"…This is impossible," she breathes.
"…This is divine."
She pushes further.
An entire digital archive opens before her—years of company data, sprawling and dense.
Her mind absorbs it like water into sand.
She doesn't blink.
If Gia were here, she would say it looked like a goddess wearing a CEO's skin.
⭐ Future Calculations — I see everything.
Viktoria returns to her seat, placing her palms flat against the desk.
"Show me the next five years," she whispers.
And her mind obeys.
Cities rearrange.
Market lines curve.
Stock prices ripple and fracture.
Corporations rise—and collapse—in seconds.
She sees financial disasters before they occur.
Political shifts before they ignite.
Entire industries forming before they even exist.
And through every calculated future—
One constant remains.
Zumi stands at the top.
A king the world bends toward.
A ruler destiny itself follows.
And she—
She stands beside him.
In every future.
In every timeline.
Warmth spreads through her chest.
She presses a hand over her heart.
"…My king," she whispers softly.
"You reshaped me."
⭐ A Private Smile — I can help him conquer anything.
She leans back in her chair, eyes glowing faintly with divine intellect.
Her voice becomes a vow spoken only to the air—
"With this power…
I can guide his empire.
I can strengthen his world.
I can support him…"
Her lips curve into a smile—
soft, proud, exquisitely dangerous.
"…In ways no human ever could."
The smile deepens.
"I will make his name echo across the world."
And deep within her soul, something answers—
Yes.
This is your purpose now.
His kingdom.
Your mind.
Together—unstoppable.
⭐ She Feels Something Unexpected — Happiness
The Red Empress sits with her hands folded neatly, eyes glowing with cosmic knowledge.
And then—
She laughs.
Softly.
Beautifully.
Genuinely.
"I feel… happy," Viktoria says, surprised by her own words.
"Truly happy."
She hasn't felt that way in years.
But she does now.
Because she finally has—
A king worth following.
A destiny worth living.
And a power worthy of a goddess.
Zumi and Gia are already blocks away from the Volkov Tower, walking down a quiet street toward their next objective.
Gia is scanning the surroundings…
Zumi is simply walking, calm, steady—
And then he stops.
Just one step.
Gia notices instantly.
Gia:
"…You felt it, didn't you?"
Zumi lifts his head slightly.
His eyes glow faintly—not bright enough for mortals to notice, but strong enough for Gia to feel the shift in the air.
A pulse of intellect-based divine energy ripples across the city, so subtle it would be missed by anyone except him.
A soft, satisfied smile forms across his lips.
Zumi:
"She's awakened."
Gia raises a brow.
Gia:
"Already? That was fast."
Zumi continues walking, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed.
Zumi:
"She embraced her divinity immediately.
Good.
She'll need it soon."
Gia smirks faintly.
Gia:
"You're pleased."
Zumi's voice is quiet.
Almost proud.
Zumi:
"I am."
Viktoria stands alone in a hidden training room beneath her office floor — a simulation chamber she uses to keep her combat instincts sharp.
The room is cold, metallic, the size of a small warehouse, walls lined with holographic projectors.
She exhales once.
Her divine intellect pulses.
Viktoria:
"…Let's see what else I can do."
She activates the simulation.
A metallic voice echoes:
SYSTEM:
"COMBAT SIMULATION:
DO YOU WISH TO LOAD STANDARD OR ADVANCED?"
Viktoria smiles.
Viktoria:
"Load all advanced scenarios simultaneously."
The system freezes.
SYSTEM:
"Warning:
Running multiple advanced simulations at once may overload cognitive—"
She cuts it off.
Viktoria:
"Do it."
The room transforms.
Five simulations ignite at the same time:
Close-quarters combat with armed opponents
Sniper threat assessment
Multiple target tracking
Environmental hazard escape sequence
Strategic command scenario
Anyone else would collapse instantly.
But Viktoria doesn't even blink.
Her eyes begin glowing faintly.
Her mind shifts into overdrive.
She moves.
Fast.
Too fast for a mortal.
But not because she's physically enhanced—
because she calculates every motion before it happens.
Her divine intellect runs hundreds of simulations per second.
She predicts each enemy's next step.
She anticipates every strike.
She sees every bullet trajectory as glowing mathematical lines.
A holographic attacker swings.
She sidesteps before his muscles even activate.
A sniper's laser appears.
She takes cover before the system registers the shot.
Four targets attack at once.
She dismantles them in a blur of precision—
using the minimum required force,
the shortest possible movements,
the perfect angles.
Her mind is running like lightning—
faster
and faster
and faster.
Her breathing stays calm.
Her body remains relaxed.
Only her eyes show the storm inside—
calculating, predicting, adapting.
The system tries to adjust to her speed.
It cannot.
SYSTEM:
"Warning. Combat difficulty has exceeded programmed thresholds."
She smirks.
Viktoria:
"Let's go higher."
She increases the settings to combat scenarios designed for elite special forces.
She completes them in seconds.
She pushes it further—
scenarios designed for superhumans.
She crushes them effortlessly.
The simulation begins to flicker.
SYSTEM:
"Error.
Cognitive prediction surpassing system limits."
Her smile widens—
A sharp, dangerous, goddess-level smile.
Viktoria:
"…This is what divinity feels like."
She loads the simulation no one has ever passed.
SYSTEM:
"WARNING.
You are loading the Impossible Scenario.
Proceed…?"
Viktoria:
"Yes."
A full enemy battalion manifests—
dozens of fighters, snipers, drones, armored units—
in a collapsing environment with active hazards.
The hardest scenario ever designed.
Her divine intellect surges.
Her mind splits into dozens of parallel thought streams—
each analyzing a different angle,
calculating outcomes,
predicting threat vectors.
Then she moves.
And she destroys the entire scenario in less than a minute.
Graceful.
Efficient.
Effortless.
The simulation shuts down.
For the first time in its entire operational history…
It displays:
SYSTEM:
"VICTORY.
New record achieved:
VIKTORIA VOLKOV — Greater Goddess of Intellect."
She stands in the center of the room, chest rising and falling lightly.
A single whisper leaves her lips:
Viktoria:
"…Zumi…
With this power…
I can help you conquer the world."
Viktoria stands in the center of the now-silent training chamber, surrounded by flickering holograms and the scorched remnants of the Impossible Scenario.
Her chest rises and falls.
Her mind is on fire.
Her divine intellect is still racing, still climbing, still expanding its reach—
Until something inside her tenses.
A strange pull.
A warm pressure behind her eyes.
A soft static in her thoughts.
Then—
A voice.
Zumi's voice.
But not in the room.
Not from a speaker.
Inside her mind.
ZUMI:
"Viktoria."
She gasps—
every muscle tensing, her heart leaping into her throat.
Her eyes dart around the room for him—
But of course… he isn't there.
And yet—
He is everywhere.
Her hand rises instinctively to her temple.
Viktoria:
"Z-Zumi…?
Am I hallucinating—?"
His voice fills her mind again, warm, calm, impossibly steady.
ZUMI:
"Relax.
It's me."
Her breath shatters.
Her knees nearly give out.
Telepathy.
A direct psychic link.
The intimacy of it hits her so deeply she feels her entire soul warm.
Viktoria (whispering aloud):
"…you can hear me… wherever you are?"
ZUMI:
"Wherever you are, Viktoria."
Her heart thunders.
Her goddess aura flares in response—soft golden-blue lines flickering faintly around her body.
She presses a hand over her heart to steady herself.
Viktoria:
"I… wasn't expecting this. I didn't know you could—"
ZUMI:
"I sensed you."
Her breath catches.
ZUMI:
"You're using your divine intellect too aggressively."
She bites her lip.
Her mind had been racing so fast she didn't realize her head was starting to throb.
Viktoria:
"…you felt that from miles away?"
ZUMI:
"You're part of my pantheon now.
I feel every shift in your divinity.
Especially when you push past your limits."
A soft shiver goes down her spine.
Being known this deeply by him feels…
Exquisite.
Safe.
Right.
But she attempts to sound composed.
Viktoria:
"I wanted to see what I'm capable of.
I wanted to be strong enough to be useful to you—"
Zumi's voice cuts in gently, but with enough authority to still her mind.
ZUMI:
"You are already strong.
But your body and mind need time to adapt to goddess-level processing."
Her eyes lower, understanding but embarrassed.
Viktoria:
"…I didn't realize how hard I was pushing myself."
Zumi's tone softens even further.
So soft she nearly melts where she stands.
ZUMI:
"I know.
And that's why I'm telling you—
take it easy."
Her throat tightens.
No one has ever told Viktoria Volkov to rest before.
To take it easy.
To care for herself.
No one ever cared enough.
But Zumi…
He cares because she is his goddess.
His partner.
His woman.
Her voice comes out small, emotional.
Viktoria:
"…I'll slow down.
I promise."
A gentle warmth spreads through her mind—his presence brushing against her thoughts like a soft hand stroking her cheek.
ZUMI:
"Good."
She closes her eyes, letting the connection linger.
It feels like he's right behind her, arms around her, grounding her.
Then—
ZUMI:
"Your divinity is strong, Viktoria.
Stronger than most.
But strength must be refined… not rushed."
Another pulse of warmth.
ZUMI:
"You're doing well.
Better than I expected for your first day."
Her breath shakes.
Praise.
From him.
She nearly collapses.
Viktoria:
"…Zumi…
thank you."
ZUMI:
"Rest your mind.
Your body will adjust.
Then you can show me more."
Her face turns crimson.
Viktoria:
"…yes… my king."
There's a brief silence.
Then—
ZUMI (softly amused):
"Good girl."
Her entire soul catches fire.
The connection fades gently—warm, lingering, like a kiss left in her mind.
She stands alone in the chamber, chest rising and falling, a hand over her heart.
Viktoria:
"…He felt me.
He knew what I was doing…
and he watched over me."
A goddess blushes.
A CEO smiles.
A woman melts.
And she whispers to herself, glowing:
Viktoria:
"I belong to him… more than ever."