The king stumbled back in his chair, his face pale with fear. His confident smirk had vanished, reced by sheer terror. Pyris had killed three Rank 16 awakened in the blink of an eye, without so much as breaking a sweat.
Pyris'' expression remained calm, though his eyes gleamed with dangerous amusement.
Mira materialized at his side, her void element coiling around her like a living shadow. Without needing instruction, she extended her hand, her void magic locking onto Soltan.
The king gasped as his body froze, Mira''s power paralyzing him in ce.
Pyris stepped forward, his cold gaze locking onto Soltan''s terrified eyes.
This was the moment.
Pyris raised his hand, ready to use the Eternal Seal on the king, the thought forming in his mind like a dark promise.
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An opportunity had presented itself—wrapped in the king''s stupidity and arrogance.
He hade in peace offering something great to the king yet he chose stupidity.
Pyris sneered, eyes narrowing as he watched the lion beast-man, still frozen in ce under Mira''s grip, sweat dripping from his face and pooling on the cold floor.
The second advisor had been the one to convince the king that trapping Pyris was the key to restoring the Sunstone Empire.
ording to the advisor, Pyris'' extraordinary abilities, whatever they were and the woman who could see visions, could be harnessed to control the Midnight Dominion and, eventually, the entirety of the Sunstone Empire.
They had hoped to use Pyris as a pawn—a tool to w their way back from the empire''s decline. They didn''t know his real identity but were sure he was a big shot from one of the main empires.
But that man was already dead. Pyris had ensured it.
Now, standing over the groveling king, Pyris allowed himself a dark, amused smile. The king had no idea howpletely he had yed into Pyris'' hands.
"What a stupid king you are," Pyris murmured, his voice dripping with condescension. "No wonder your rule is declining. You can''t even recognize a hill from a mountain."
The king''s breathing was ragged, sweat pouring from his body as Mira''s void energy pressed down on him.
His knees were crushed against the marble floor, his lion ears ttened against his skull in a mixture of terror and disbelief.
Pyris could almost hear the racing heartbeat in the man''s chest, as though his very soul was clinging to survival.
"You''re lucky," Pyris continued, his voice soft but razor-sharp. "Thanks to your stupidity, I don''t have to go through so much trouble to get what I want. Fear not, for your kingdom will stay yours... and will grow more powerful than you ever imagined. Powerful enough that even the great empires won''t dare to annihte it."
The empires—whether Dragon, Vampire, or Elven—had long desired to eradicate the Sunstone Empire.
This region ofwlessness and chaos had no ce among their well-orderednds.
And yet, they hesitated. The Midnight Dominion, the heart of the Sunstone Empire, was too valuable. It had be a hub of illegal trade, forbidden knowledge, and mercenary power that the empires secretly wanted a piece of.
Like vultures, they circled, waiting for the right moment to feast on the spoils.
But Pyris was about to change the game.
King Soltan''s eyes widened, the fire of hope suddenly igniting within him. Could it be? Was he about to see the rebirth of his empire, the restoration of his power? His heart pounded with renewed fervor.
The decline could be reversed. His dream, his vision of ruling over an empire respected and feared, might still be within reach.
But Pyris'' next words came like a thunderp.
"...Albeit, as my ve."
The king''s breath caught in his throat, the word "ve" echoing through his mind like a final, damning decree. Pyris'' voice had dropped an octave, his tone colder than death itself.
The word ve hammered into Soltan''s mind, turning that flicker of hope into a deep well of despair.
Before the king could even process what was happening, Pyris raised his hand, activating a power he had never used before—the Eternal Seal.
[Ding! 100,000 LPs deducted!] the system announced coldly in Pyris'' mind, the transaction brief but significant. He could feel the familiar pull of energy as his life points were siphoned into the seal.
''That will change soon enough,'' Pyris thought, already plotting how to make this ability costless.
A massive, invisible grey seal erupted from Pyris'' body, its surface swirling with tendrils of primal energy.
The seal was ancient—older than time itself—and even though it was cloaked from the world''s senses, the air around it trembled. Space itself seemed to warp, as though recognizing the presence of something beyondprehension.
The void around it felt the weight of eternity.
The king''s body froze entirely, his will evaporating as the seal began to engulf him. His wide eyes stared nkly,pletely entranced, as if he could no longer even register what was happening.
The tendrils of grey energy enveloped himpletely, binding him.
A ripple of energy burst forth, though only Pyris could feel the full weight of what had transpired.
[Ding! Eternal Seal sessful… Host has gained his first eternal ve.]
Pyris could feel it—a deep connection forming between himself and the king. It wasn''t just mind control; it wasplete dominion.
The king''s will, his actions, his very existence, were now tied to Pyris. He could choose his life and death, pain, joy and beyond.
The man would live or die by Pyris'' whims, and if Pyris himself were to die, so too would his eternal ve. The king was no longer a ruler—he was a puppet, a hollow shell animated by Pyris''mand.
[Ding! New ability gained: Eternal''s Vision.]
[You can now share the vision of your eternal ve, granting you sight of what they see. However, this ability is one-way—they cannot see through your eyes.]
Pyris felt the connection settle, a web of control linking him to Soltan''s mind.
He could sense the man''s fear, his desperation wing at the edges of the bond. Your next chapter is on empire
Pyris lifted his hand, and in response, the king rose shakily to his feet, eyes dull and lifeless as his new master willed him to move.
"Master…" the word slipped from the king''s lips, barely more than a whisper. It was the first taste ofplete servitude, a soft acknowledgment of the unbreakable chain that now bound him to Pyris.
He would be whatever Pyrismanded him to be—a ruler, a servant, a puppet for the empire.
Pyris smiled coldly, his eyes glinting with amusement. Mira stepped back, her void energy retreating now that the king was under Pyris'' full control. Her expression was calm, but Pyris could feel her satisfaction.
The king had been broken with little effort.
After a brief pause, Pyris gave his firstmand. "After a day, you will withdraw the mission request you posted with the Eclipse Syndicate."
The king nodded nkly, his mind no longer able to resist.
Pyris rose from his chair, his business with the kingplete. There was no need to linger here. He had already gained everything he needed. Without a second nce, he walked toward the exit, his mind shifting to the next phase of his n.
He woulde back here to explore more what the domain had to offer.
As he left the meeting room, Pyris felt a faint hum in his ring. He lifted his hand, tapping the ring as he activated themunication link with Ammit.
"Ammit," he said calmly, his tone now shifting to one of quiet authority. "The king is… in my service. You''ll remain in the shadows, but you will be the real ruler of this empire."@@novelbin@@
Ammit, always cool andposed, chuckled softly through the link. "As you wish, my love. I never intended to rule publicly. My strength lies in the shadows."
"Exactly. Between you and my new ve, we will ensure the sess of our dreams." Pyris smiled to himself. His kingdom was beginning to take shape, piece by piece.
With the king under his control and Ammit guiding things from the shadows, the Sunstone Empire would soon bend to his will. But this was only the beginning. There were far greater empires to conquer, and gods to defy.