Chapter 127: The Reborn Empress

Valeria and Cassian exchanged glances, their minds suddenly conjuring the icy demeanor of the Reborn Empress.

They shivered... Would Liana unleash an apocalypse?

"I no longer care to distinguish right from wrong!" Cassian roared. He tore off his black executioner’s hood and slammed it to the dirt. "We must at least recover his body and return it to the Capital. His family deserves an answer!"

"Let us help!"

Moments later, with most of the mob distracted by the scramble for the decoy pearl, Cassian — a veteran of the Fifth Realm — managed to secure the "remains" of the Sword Sovereign.

"Damn it... all that is left of him is a single strand of hair!"

Staring at the lone black hair in his palm, Cassian clenched his fists in grief and fury, slamming them against a nearby boulder.

"Let us head back to the Capital. Sigh..." Cassian carefully tucked away the strand of hair, preparing himself to console the bereaved Empress.

...

Meanwhile, at Solstice Manor.

The rich aroma of spiced boar stew wafted through the courtyard. After the perilous adventure in the ancient tomb, they were finally enjoying a warm meal.

If one ignored the fact that the founding ancestor of the Devourer Cult was sitting at the table, the scene was downright heartwarming.

"It is over. Everything is over."

Pontifex Valerius mechanically swished a slice of meat in the broth, muttering to herself in a daze. Her eyes were vacant.

Theo was not sure what to say...

Her empire was dead, her career was ruined, and her legacy was a terrorist group.

It was the kind of midlife despair where words failed before tears could even fall.

"Look at it this way," Theo offered a bowl of wine. "At least you are still here, eating and drinking. You can always start over. Any plans?"

"None." The Pontifex shook her head, chewing on the savory meat, finding a tiny sliver of comfort in the spice.

"Interested in a career change?" Theo glanced at the beauty beside him.

Liana was eating quietly, a hint of pleasure in her eyes. He posed the question to the Pontifex seriously.

Theo had ulterior motives. Every word Somnus had spoken lingered in his mind. The curse was real. Liana might face the exact same fate as the Pontifex.

He had witnessed the horror of a Primeval awakening firsthand. Somnus was a nightmare. The Primeval Aurora would be infinitely worse.

If the Aurora awakened inside Liana, even with his *Parasite* class and *Great Sage*, Theo had no idea how to safely extract.

Pontifex Valerius, unreliable as she seemed, was the only known Exarch to successfully delay a Primeval. He needed her expertise.

"What kind of career change?" the Pontifex asked.

"Ahem, how about joining my Abyssal Syndicate?"

"Syndicate?" The Pontifex blinked. It sounded grand. But she had never heard of it.

"Of course you haven’t. I established it while you were asleep," Theo took a sip of wine. "Our current operations span the entire Empire, and we have already formed a strategic partnership with your Devourer Cult."

"Eh?"

The ancient Exarch was baffled.

She recognized the words, but strung together, they made zero sense. Sylvia looked equally intrigued.

Liana watched the earnest young man with a resigned curl of her lips. *Here he goes again...*

"Is this Abyssal Syndicate... located here?" the Pontifex asked, glancing at the quiet manor.

"No, this is the Imperial Academy’s jurisdiction. Before joining the Syndicate, you will need to stay at this manor as an independent contractor and report to the Academy elders."

"Huh?"

The Pontifex scratched her head. Since when did joining a holy sect require such convoluted corporate bureaucracy? The former Exarch was entirely lost.

"I am finished eating. I will rest for a while," Liana set down her silverware and stood. "Call me if you require assistance falling asleep, Theo."

"..."

In the master bedroom on the second floor, the window framed a view of the snow-capped Imperial Palace.

The frost-laden peaks were breathtaking, yet they paled before the quiet beauty of the young maiden.

Liana sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the young man’s animated, scamming chatter drifting up from the courtyard. She closed her eyes, her lips pressed tightly together.

*Will I become someone else?*

Someone unrecognizable? A merciless deity who no longer remembered him?

"No."

His ability to absorb and refine the impossible was supreme... There was always a way.

As her thoughts churned, a sudden pang of dread gripped her heart. It felt as if an invisible hand had seized her lungs, making even breathing difficult.

Somewhere in the void, someone was calling to her. Waiting for her.

The Genesis Sphere!

A divine light flickered across Liana’s jade-like face. In the mirror opposite the bed, her reflection shifted, projecting the ethereal radiance of the Sphere... and a towering figure standing within it.

Who...?

Liana’s breath hitched. She could feel it piercing her very soul.

The Primeval Aurora’s gaze was fixed directly upon her.

The bedroom dissolved into shimmering silver, the world stripping down to the thrum of two converging souls.

Even amidst the infinite, overlapping mysteries of the Genesis Sphere, *Her* presence remained unmistakably vivid.

Liana felt as if the lunar energy within her was erupting for the very first time.

A boundless cold surged from the depths of her soul, spreading through her entire body and rendering her unable to move even a finger.

It felt as though she were trapped in a glacier, falling endlessly into an abyss...

She had become a mere bystander to her own existence, powerless to act.

"You have come."

Was it the wind that carried that voice?

It was identical to the one she had heard back in the subterranean sanctum.

The one calling to her was never Somnus. It was *Her*!

The moment the realization struck, Liana felt her consciousness plunge into chaos.

*Buzz—*

Like the beating heart of the heavens, the call became deafening, whispering truths that bypassed human language entirely.

*Does she want to seize my ego? Even if it means mutually assured destruction...* Liana clung desperately to her fading awareness. Facing a being as vast as a Primeval, she was but an insignificant ant.

Yet, she refused to simply surrender...