Chapter 94: Engagement Gift???
Zen followed the armored guards down a massive, spiralling obsidian staircase. The air grew colder with every step as they descended deep beneath the palace, leaving the warmth of the upper floors behind.
Aurelia was waiting at the bottom, standing proudly in front of a massive circular vault door covered in thousands of burning golden runes.
"You requested me at this hour?" Zen asked, walking up calmly to her with his hands casually resting in his pockets.
"I wanted to give you your engagement gift in private," Aurelia said with a warm smile. She waved her hand, and the heavy vault doors ground open with a deafening, metallic screech that shook the floor.
Inside, the room was blinding. It was filled with ancient, high-tier weapons, mountains of stamped gold coins, and glowing artefacts that could buy entire cities.
But Aurelia ignored all of the wealth and walked straight to a small, isolated glass pedestal sitting in the centre of the room.
Resting on the pedestal was a single, silver crown, pulsing with a dark blue light.
"What is that?" Zen asked, deliberately keeping his distance.
"The Soul-Binder," Aurelia whispered, her striking blue eyes shining with manic obsession as she gazed at the metal. "It found this artefact three centuries ago. Once you wear it, our minds will be permanently linked. We will share every thought, every single emotion. You will never be able to hide from me, Zen, and I will never be separated from you again."
Zen’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the crown. He didn’t need the System to tell him what he was looking at. He recognized the deeply etched Aetheric runes carving their way across the silver band.
Those weren’t symbols of unity or partnership; they were ancient glyphs of absolute subjugation and mental control.
He knew exactly how this artefact worked. It didn’t merge minds equally... iIt actively sought out the weaker psyche and devoured it.
If Aurelia’s overwhelming Divine-Rank power collided with his current Low B-Rank core through that crown, his consciousness wouldn’t just be suppressed... it would be entirely annihilated. He would most certainly become a mindless, perfectly obedient puppet on her throne.
[Host’s magical analysis is accurate.]
[Probability of complete ego death upon application: 100%.]
"Put it on, Zen," Aurelia said softly as she stepped toward him, holding the crown out like it was a sacred offering. "Let me into your mind so I can keep you safe from the rest of the world."
"No," Zen’s voice was hard and cold.
Aurelia stopped dead in her tracks. Her sweet, obsessive smile vanished instantly, replaced by bewilderment. "No? You refuse my gift?"
"I refuse a slave collar," Zen snapped, channelling every single ounce of his Emperor persona.
He stepped aggressively into her personal space, glaring down at her with disgust. He didn’t back away from the pulsing blue light; he towered over it.
"Do you think I am some stray dog you can put on a leash, Aurelia?" Zen’s voice echoed dangerously off the vault walls. "I am the Conqueror of the Void. My mind is my own. I bow to no one, and I certainly do not submit my psyche to an artefact."
"It is for your protection!" Aurelia argued, her voice rising in sheer panic as she clutched the crown to her chest. "Your core is weak! If the Void Singularity returns, you will die again! I cannot survive losing you twice!"
"You will lose me right now if you try to put that metal trash on my head," Zen threatened.
Without waiting for her permission, he reached out and snatched the pulsing crown directly from her hands.
Aurelia gasped, stumbling backward as if he had physically struck her.
Zen looked down at the crown in his hands and began scannning the silver grooves. He remembered the fatal flaw in Aetheric craftsmanship from the ancient wars. The mana intake valve was always located near the primary conduction node.
His thumb found the base of the left arch.
He squeezed the silver metal with a concentrated burst of his newly acquired Low B-Rank strength, and a sharp, mechanical crack echoed loudly in the silent vault.
The dark blue light instantly sputtered, flickered, and died.
"The artefact is even unstable," Zen lied smoothly, tossing the dead, useless crown back onto the glass pedestal with a bored look. "It is unworthy of an Emperor. I will fix it when my core is fully restored. Until then, it stays locked in this vault."
Aurelia stared at him, breathing heavily. She looked at the crown, then at Zen’s dominant posture.
Then, slowly, a wide smile spread across her face.
The overwhelming authority he had just displayed completely overwrote her initial panic. He had broken an ancient artefact with his bare hands just to prove a point. It was exactly the kind of ruthlessness her ’Mind’ fragment craved.
"You are right," Aurelia whispered, bowing her head. "I was foolish to rush. Only the best for my Emperor."
"Exactly," Zen said coldly.
He turned his back on her, staring toward the obsidian staircase to hide the massive, shaky exhale of relief escaping his lips. He had just survived a literal death sentence by the skin of his teeth.
But as he let out that breath, a sudden, sharp tug pulled at his chest.
It wasn’t physical pain, but a spike of terror coming through the mana bond.
Zen’s head snapped up instantly, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
Maya.
—
Somewhere else in the palace... a few minutes ago...
Meanwhile, in the eastern guest wing of the palace, Maya was walking quickly down the quiet, thickly carpeted corridor.
’I need to find Zen,’ she said to herself.
The magical pressure of the Empress’s domain was suffocating, pressing against her skull and giving her a migraine. The walls felt like they were closing in, and after witnessing the terrifying display of power at dinner, she was absolutely terrified of sitting alone in her massive, empty guest suite.
She just wanted to stand behind Zen’s protective aura for a few minutes to catch her breath.
She picked up her pace, fiddling with the hem of her shirt as she walked. She rounded a sharp, gold-lined corner, looking back over her shoulder to make sure she hadn’t taken a wrong turn.
She bumped hard into someone’s chest.
"Oh! I’m so sorry!" Maya stammered, immediately stepping back and looking up to apologise to the passing guard.
But a heavy, gloved hand instantly clamped down over her mouth, muffling her startled scream.
"Quiet," a rough voice hissed, pulling her forcefully into the shadows of an adjacent alcove. "You are coming with us."
