The world of Ashburg was gone. In its place was a vast, suffocating darkness—the Deep Sea of Consciousness.
Rayn drifted in the center of this void, his spectral form flickering like a candle in a hurricane. Above him, gargantuan chains of translucent mana stretched across the "sky," anchoring his soul to his physical shell. He felt light, yet burdened by an invisible mountain. The silence was absolute, save for the thrumming of his own heartbeat, which sounded like a war drum in the distance.
Suddenly, a figure coalesced from the shadows. It was a man with hair as white as a dying star and eyes that held the weight of ten thousand slaughterhouses. This was the Duplicate Soul of Yaowangming, the fragment of the ancient Sovereign created to preserve the memories of a life lost to time.
"Hey, Silas," Rayn rasped, his voice echoing through the hollow space. "What the fuck are you doing here? Why can I see you so clearly? Is this the afterlife, or did that bitch Elza finally send me to the void?"
Silas let out a dry, rattling laugh that sounded like sandpaper on bone. "The afterlife? Don't flatter yourself, you little shit. You're too stubborn to die, and hell is already full of people like us."
Silas floated closer, his presence radiating a cold, ancient pressure. "Your body is exhausted, Rayn. The battle with Elza and the sudden awakening of the Void Scourge turned your internal organs into a goddamn meat-grinder. Your soul wanted to escape the pain, so it fled to the only place it could—your subconscious. You aren't powerful enough to leave your body and explore the astral plane yet, so you're stuck here, meeting my consciousness in this half-dead dream."
Rayn's spectral eyes narrowed. He remembered the fight. He remembered the feeling of his ribs snapping and the taste of his own copper-rich blood. "I feel weak, Silas. I look at myself and I see an ant. I can't even fight a bitch like Elza without nearly getting my soul extinguished. And then there's my brother... Jai. He's two years younger than me, but he's already a goddamn veteran. I heard he fought in a war and won the whole thing by himself. How the fuck am I supposed to compete with that?"
Silas chuckled, a sound filled with malicious wisdom. "You want to compare yourself to Jai? That's like a dog comparing itself to a hurricane. Jai has been practicing his combat skills since the moment he crawled out of the womb. His every breath is a cultivation technique. You? You just trained your combat skills under some martial arts master who probably didn't know his ass from his elbow. There's a heaven-defying difference in your foundations."
Rayn interrupted, his voice dripping with venom. "The thing is, yeah, I won that fight, but if Jai actually used his real powers, I'd be a fucking smear on the wall. I have stronger powers than him—I know I do—so why the hell can't I get any stronger? Why am I stuck in this pathetic state?"
Silas's face turned grim, his eyes flashing with a violet light. "Because you're a goddamn amateur, Rayn. You don't know how to use your powers, and more importantly, you haven't even truly awakened them. You're like a toddler swinging a legendary sword. You're more likely to cut your own feet off than kill an enemy."
"I know how to use the Conqueror Power!" Rayn barked. "I killed more than 400 monsters using my power and my blade. I tore those fuckers apart!"
"Thinking you know how to use it is exactly why you're weak," Silas spat. "I was the original user of that power. It's my legacy. You think killing 400 mindless beasts makes you a master? You haven't even scratched the surface. And don't even get me started on your Controller Power. It's a mortal-grade power currently, but it's the key to everything, and you're treating it like a party trick. You need to understand the mechanics of these two powers first. Only then can I teach you about the Void Scourge."
Silas leaned in, his face inches from Rayn's. "The Void Scourge is not a physical power. It's not about how hard you can swing a sword. It is a parasitic force controlled entirely by your mental state. If your mind is weak, the Scourge will eat you from the inside out. It will turn your memories into poison and your soul into ash."
Rayn felt a cold shiver run down his spectral spine. "Fine. What do I have to do to become a god among these mortals?"
Silas's expression became terrifyingly serious. "First, you need to kill that lingering 'kindness' in your soul. It's holding you back like a lead weight. Second, you need to fight that dragon bitch, Vespera. She's a monster in human skin. Her combat skills are refined by centuries of slaughter. Let her break you. Let her crush your bones until you understand the flow of power. You need to cultivate. Your Collector Power is your greatest asset because it can become an Immortal Grade power once you combine all the mortal shards you've stolen. It turns your weaknesses into raw, unadulterated strength."
Suddenly, a violent tugging sensation yanked at Rayn's chest. The dark sea began to swirl, and the chains above him rattled with the sound of a thousand bells.
"What the fuck is happening, Silas?" Rayn yelled, his form beginning to dissolve.
"Your body is waking up, you lucky bastard," Silas said, his voice fading. "Go back to the world of the living. And remember: if you stay weak, I'll be the one to devour your soul myself."
Rayn's eyes snapped open. The transition from the cold void to the physical world was a violent assault on his senses. The smell of bitter medicinal herbs and the soft scent of jasmine filled his nose. He groaned, his body feeling like it had been trampled by a herd of tectonic beasts.
He shifted his head slightly and froze.
Sleeping right beside him, her head resting on a silk pillow, was Vespera. She was wearing a simple white silk dress that clung to her curves, her long hair fanned out like a dark halo. In her sleep, she didn't look like the terrifying "Dragon Bitch" who could level a city. She looked innocent. Cute. Almost fragile.
Rayn reached out, his fingers trembling, and pinched her cheek. Why did you try to protect me? he thought, his mind swirling with dark, cynical thoughts. I don't even know if I'm truly your master. What game are you playing? Maybe one day, I'll be the one to slit your throat and flee this golden cage.
Vespera's eyelashes fluttered. Her eyes, slitted like a predator's, opened and immediately locked onto Rayn's. A small, knowing smile played on her lips. Before Rayn could pull away, she moved with the speed of a strike, closing the distance and pressing her lips firmly against his.
Rayn's brain short-circuited. The kiss was soft, yet it held an underlying intensity that made his blood boil. When she finally pulled back, Rayn gasped for air, his face flushed.
"What the fuck was that?" Rayn face is cold like ice. "When did you learn to kiss people like that?"
Vespera giggled, her voice like silver bells. "I didn't kiss 'people,' Rayn. I kissed you."
Rayn shook his head, trying to clear the fog of Silas's words and the lingering heat of the kiss. He looked at her with a burning intensity. "Vespera, I want a favor. And you're the only one who can do it."
Vespera tilted her head, her expression curious. "What is it, my little King? What do you want from your dragon?"
"I want you to train me," Rayn said, his voice dropping into a guttural growl. "I want to become strong. I'm tired of being the underdog. I want to show this goddamn world how strong I am. I want to carve my name into the sky so everyone knows who the fuck I am."
Vespera stared at him. She saw the burning rage behind his eyes, the absolute hunger for power that mirrored the ancient dragons of her lineage. He looked like a beast that wanted to devour the sun.
"I see it now," she whispered, her voice filled with a dark pride. "The desire to rule. Very well, Rayn. I will train you. I will push you until you wish you were back in that void. I will make you as strong as my original master—no, I will make you stronger."
Rayn tried to sit up, but a wave of vertigo hit him. Vespera gently pushed him back and handed him a glass of dark, foul-smelling liquid. "Drink this. It's a concoction of spirit herbs."
Rayn downed the medicine, grimacing at the bitter taste. "How long was I out? It feels like I've been dead for a month."
"Two weeks," Vespera replied calmly.
"Two weeks?!" Rayn shouted, nearly choking on the medicine. "For a few broken ribs and some mana exhaustion? I've had worse hangovers!"
Vespera sighed, her expression softening. "Rayn, you didn't just have 'normal damage.' You awakened a total of 21 different powers simultaneously, and on top of that, you tapped into the Void Scourge. Your internal core was like a volcano about to explode. It took two weeks for your body to reconstruct its pathways and for the Scourge to settle into your marrow. If you had woken up any sooner, your heart would have burst from the pressure."
In the back of Rayn's mind, Silas's voice echoed: See? I told you this little girl had knowledge. She's the perfect trainer. If you follow her lead, you might actually survive the month.
Vespera stood up, her white dress flowing around her. "There is one more thing you need to know. A ceremony is happening soon. Freddy told me to inform you the moment you woke up."
"What ceremony?" Rayn asked, his eyes narrowing.
"The Prince of this Country is arriving next month," Vespera said, her voice turning serious. "The Royal Family is making a tour of the provinces, and Ashburg is on their list. Freddy is terrified. He said you have to maintain your dignity. No trash-talking the Prince, no starting fights, and for the love of the gods, don't do anything 'wrong.' The Prince is a Turn-5 powerhouse with the backing of the Imperial Guard. If you offend him, not even I can stop the entire kingdom from hunting you down."
Rayn leaned back against the headboard, a cold, predatory grin spreading across his face. "A Prince, huh? Another arrogant prick who thinks his blood makes him special."
"Rayn," Vespera warned. "I mean it. Be careful."
Rayn just laughed, a dark, hollow sound. "Don't worry, Vespera. I'll be a perfect gentleman... until I'm not."