Chapter 33: The Letter From Serphine

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: The Letter From Serphine

Three hours of relentless, mind-breaking pleasure had left the entire room thick with the smell of sex—sweat, the heavy musk of Michael’s release, and the sweet, addictive scent of Raven’s repeated climaxes that still clung to the air like perfume.

Michael couldn’t even keep track of time anymore. It was only after Raven finally passed out, her body going limp beneath him, and his cock began to ache from pure overuse that he actually looked toward the window and realized the light outside had long since turned to deep evening.

He sat on the edge of the ruined bed, breathing hard. The sheets were a complete disaster—soaked through in places, twisted into knots, half-kicked onto the floor.

At the far edge Raven lay curled on her side, still trembling with soft aftershocks that made her whimper even in sleep. Her red-and-black hair stuck to the damp curve of her back in messy, sweat-darkened strands.

Between her slightly parted thighs, thick ropes of his cum still leaked slowly from her thoroughly used pussy, trailing in glossy white rivulets down the soft inner curve of one thigh and pooling on the sheets beneath her.

Michael turned away from the wrecked sight of her, a small, contented smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

The expression didn’t last.

His face settled into something sharper, more focused, as he reached for the folded letter Seraphine had left for him and carefully unfolded the paper.

His sharp eyes skimmed across the paper, line after line.

With each sentence, his expression grew more serious.

He reread certain passages twice, then a third time, as if hoping he had somehow misunderstood what he was seeing. His fingers tightened around the edges of the paper, slowly crumpling them before he caught himself and loosened his grip.

By the time he reached the end, the playful look that usually lingered in his eyes had completely vanished.

Michael’s gaze remained fixed on the final line for several seconds.

He finally leaned back, letting out a long, heavy breath as he lowered the letter onto his lap.

"So..." His eyes narrowed slightly. "The war is almost here..."

Although Michael had somehow expected a war to happen, considering how busy Seraphine had been lately and the fact that Lucifera had come over to her territory, he hadn’t expected it to be to the extent Seraphine was implying.

According to her letter, this was no ordinary territorial dispute between two Sovereigns.

Something unprecedented was happening.

Something serious enough to shake the very foundation of the dome.

Nearly every other Sovereign Domain was quietly aligning themselves against a single common enemy.

Michael’s eyes narrowed as he reread the name at the bottom of the page.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his expression slowly hardened.

The Strongest One Under the Heavens.

’The Shadow Monarch.’

Even at the academy, the Shadow Monarch was treated as something beyond a mere Sovereign.

A god.

A walking myth.

And yet, despite being the youngest of all the Sovereigns at just forty-three years old, almost nothing was actually known about him.

He had become a Sovereign at the age of twenty-five—only six years after awakening.

That alone should have made him one of the most thoroughly documented Awakened in history.

But it hadn’t.

Even the academy textbooks, which contained comprehensive records on Awakened individuals—especially Sovereigns and Great Kings—had surprisingly little to say about him.

Michael had once found that strange.

Now, looking back, it felt downright unsettling.

There were only a handful of confirmed facts.

The Shadow Monarch was the only Rank 1 in existence.

He belonged to the most powerful clan across all the domes—a family so secretive that ordinary people weren’t even permitted to know it existed.

And that was it.

No detailed history.

No record of his childhood.

No explanation of how he had awakened.

No documented battles.

No confirmed abilities.

Nothing.

Even Michael, the academy’s top student and valedictorian, had never managed to uncover anything beyond those few scattered facts.

It was almost as if someone had deliberately erased everything else.

But there was one more piece of information.

A rumor whispered among those who knew better.

Anyone who entered the Shadow Monarch’s territory would eventually return...

several times stronger than before.

Those who didn’t return?

No one knew what happened to them.

Because no one who entered his territory and never came back had ever been seen again.

Michael’s fingers tightened around the letter.

For some reason, that final fact bothered him more than everything else.

Because if even the academy couldn’t find out what happened inside the Shadow Monarch’s territory... what exactly was he hiding there?

Michael pressed the heel of one hand against his forehead. ’Even if that’s the case, why would the rest of humanity’s strongest suddenly decide the Shadow Monarch needed to die?’

Simple jealousy?

No.

That felt far too shallow.

And if that were really the reason, Michael seriously doubted Seraphine would have taken part in it.

Which could only mean there was something far deeper—and far more dreadful—driving them.

Something Seraphine either couldn’t tell him...

Or something she believed would put him in even greater danger if he knew.

His eyes dropped back to the letter’s final lines.

{Assemble a squad of four and begin clearing the rifts around the territory. I know you’re still injured, sweetheart, but you need to get stronger fast. From what Luci told me, a secret realm—rumored to have originated from the Third Heaven—will appear before the war officially begins. I want you strong enough to at least survive it, since you’ll be entering as my representative.}

Michael’s eyes lingered on the words "secret realm."

Almost immediately, a sudden, deep, resonant pulse rolled through his chest.

Badump.

His entire body stiffened.

It felt as though something deep within his very being had reacted to those two words.

His rose-pink irises slowly bled into solid crimson.

This wasn’t simple curiosity. It was something far more primal.

His Dragon Bloodline—which had never reacted to anything before—was screaming at him.

This was important.

Michael’s expression darkened as his fingers tightened around the mattress.

He was sure of it...

Whatever was waiting inside that secret realm was connected to him somehow.

And if he could claim whatever lay within...

Perhaps those endless nightmares—the ones filled with countless golden eyes—would finally give him the answers he had been searching for.

"Yawn~"

The sound of a soft, sleepy murmur pulled Michael out of his thoughts, his eyes returning to their normal color.

Just as he was about to turn his head, he felt something warm and soft press against his back. Raven wrapped both arms around his waist from behind, pressing herself against him as she rested her cheek between his shoulder blades.

"What did Her Highness say? Did she say anything about me?"

Michael shook his head. "No, she didn’t."

Raven pouted slightly.

After a brief silence, she asked, "So... have you thought about who you’re going to pick for the squad? That’s why Her Highness brought you here, isn’t it?"

Michael glanced down at the letter.

His mind immediately began running through the possibilities.

A squad of four.

A squad made up entirely of women would obviously be the most beneficial for him. He could give them missions, after all, and turn their progress into his own strength.

But...

Could he really see himself fighting through rifts without at least one male friend by his side?

Not a chance.

Brothers were like hands and feet, while women were like clothing.

Michael could still remember the old saying from his past life, though his own women definitely weren’t as simple as clothes.

Still, he didn’t plan on becoming the strongest surrounded by only women. He needed at least one man who could understand his thoughts without him having to explain everything.

’Well, I already have someone in mind.’

Michael nodded at Raven’s earlier question, then lifted the letter and channeled a thin thread of spirit energy into the paper while simultaneously tapping into his F-rank Fire Rune.

The paper ignited instantly, curling into black ash that the evening breeze from the open window carried away.

"Raven, get dressed."

He pushed himself away from her, leaving her hands falling to her sides.

Raven’s golden eyes went wide.

She pointed at herself with one finger, her voice rising with disbelief. "Does that mean...?"

Michael stood, stretched once, then glanced back over his shoulder with a smirk.

"What does it look like?"