The veil between worlds folded back in absolute silence.
No thunder. No flash of power.
Just stillness—like slipping into the breath between seconds.
And then the world changed.
I stepped into a landscape of starlit sky and glimmering white stone. The atmosphere here was different—weightless, dreamlike, yet charged with ancient energy. My dimension existed outside of reality. A sealed empire suspended in timeless stillness, accessible only to me.
The great palace loomed ahead—floating above a lake of mirrored light, its towers swirling with silver wind and crystal vines that pulsed like veins.
At the palace steps, they waited.
The five goddesses.
They stood barefoot beneath the moonlight, clothed in flowing silks of celestial color. Their auras shimmered with immense power—so intense, the ground around them bent and rippled with energy.
But when they saw me… they bowed.
As one.
Each on a single knee, heads lowered, eyes glowing with reverence.
Their voices echoed in perfect unison.
"Welcome, our King."
They had once ruled entire realms, destroyed armies with a whisper, and tamed dragons with a glance.
Now they lived only to serve me.
And yet—none of them knew the full truth.
Not about Ren. Not about Elira. Not about the world I walked when I left this place.
This was a separate throne.
And I wore it well.
I passed them without speaking, entering the palace gates.
Inside, starlight filtered through floating glass panes. The throne room pulsed with the hum of life—rows upon rows of suspended stasis orbs lined the walls. Inside each: a female slave, suspended mid-breath, collected from countless dimensions.
Each one had been hand-picked.
Each one had her beauty, her skills, her purpose.
None of them knew where they were.
And now, it was time to sort them.
I stood at the edge of the grand archive hall. A soft tone rang out as the system registered my presence.
Begin Categorization Protocol?
"Yes," I said softly.
One by one, the orbs descended. Faces flickered through the crystal: humans, elves, beastkin, demons, hybrids—warriors, scholars, courtesans, mages.
So many races. So many paths. All now mine.
And yet, to me, this wasn't about desire.
It was maintenance. Calibration. Control.
I examined the first—an elven commander, known across her world for unparalleled swordsmanship. She floated in stasis, frozen in time, her silver armor gleaming.
Category: Combat. Loyalty Potential: 89%. Emotion Conditioning: Required.
Approved.
Next came a scholar from a magic-based civilization—her mind vast, her form curved and delicate, her soul saturated with untapped potential.
Category: Intelligence. Loyalty Potential: 94%. Pleasure Compatibility: High.
Approved.
And on it went—a slow, methodical process of sorting and assigning value.
Some would be trained. Some would be awakened only for testing. Others… kept close, in case I grew curious.
The goddesses stood silently nearby.
They did not question me. They never had.
One, the golden-haired goddess of fire, stepped forward at last.
"Would you like us to prepare chambers for the awakened ones, my King?" she asked.
Her voice was gentle. Devoted.
"Yes," I replied. "But not all of them. Only the ones I designate personally."
She bowed. "As you command."
Hours passed. Dozens were sorted. The systems updated accordingly. My empire shifted and expanded.
Yet no part of me felt overwhelmed.
I wasn't tired.
I wasn't satisfied.
I was simply… maintaining the illusion.
Even here.
Even now.
Because not even these goddesses knew the real me.
They saw only what I let them see.
And that would never change.
I turned back toward the mirrored throne behind me, the celestial moonlight catching on the black veins of the floor. I sat—alone—and stared out at the still, glowing world I had built.
Above, in the world of time and limits, I was just Ren—the boy next door.
But here… I was something beyond.
And no one would ever know what that truly meant.
Not Airi.
Not Elira.
Not even the ones who called me king.
End of Chapter 6