The stakes were higher, and the whisper of death was getting stronger and somehow more enchanting.

Kaden and Aurora became more aware of what it meant to go against the Empire. It meant they had to go against Elderlings, beings with power neither of them could even fathom.

But if there was one thing the world did not lack despite its wretchedness, it was hope. A nasty thing to feel, yet something they needed to continue.

Kaden and Aurora still had hope. And that hope came only from their different kinds of powers.

Aurora might not be able to look at the path, but she had other lesser skills that would not threaten her life. Her first skill was intuition, sharper than anything and guided by the stars themselves. Her second skill was starlight manipulation, a skill mainly useful during the night. But that was more than enough, she believed.

Kaden's abilities, meanwhile, were many and diverse, each one capable of tilting this unfavorable situation to their liking, and to a large degree. One in particular he leaned toward in this endeavor was his Seed of Prometheus.

Kaden found it curious. His current situation — going against a whole empire and god-like beings to save a woman — was very similar to Prometheus's story, if he recalled correctly.

Added to that, he used that name for his identity in this quest. Strange, he thought.

For a brief moment, his thoughts drifted into a storm of thoughts, wondering if there was any correlation amidst all of this, or if it was simply coincidence. The latter being something quite idiotic to believe in this world. But he shook his head, his mind deciding to focus on the current situation.

In front of them were the bodies of the silver-robed men, now stripped of their masks, showing handsome men and women, mostly old.

Aurora was sitting beside him, watching the same sight.

"We are weaker than them," Kaden started, "so we need to avoid frontal attack the best we can."

"True." Aurora agreed. "Are you planning on taking spies?" She wondered, her intuition acting passively, and since she was actively using it, the effect was staggering.

"Similar." Kaden nodded. "Even the worst monster cares about something. Maybe a person, maybe a beast… maybe nothing more than an object."

"And caring means having something to lose, and that is a weakness. If not physical, then moral. And the latter is exactly what we're aiming for."

"Easy to say," Aurora replied. "Beings like Lord Silver aren't children. They've lived long enough to hide their weaknesses well."

A small smile touched her lips.

"But even a lion can miss a day… or two."

Kaden mirrored her smile, then looked at the sleeping men in front of them.

They were not dead. Not yet. They still had their roles to fulfill.

"Let's be the worms that find the cracks on the snake's skin and slither inside them," Kaden said, turning his head to face Aurora.

"Lord Morningstar and Lady Green?" Aurora asked. "Lady of Green can be an ally if approached carefully. Morningstar too is quite peculiar. From what Solaris once told me, that man always tried to slither inside the royal family by marriage."

Then she grinned.

"And he succeeded, you see." Aurora said, making Kaden raise an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"The Emperor. Or rather, the Emperor Consort. He is from Morningstar, more exactly, the father of the current Morningstar head."

Aurora leaned forward. "And I heard he is exactly like any Morningstar."

Kaden tilted his head. "Meaning?"

"Lustful." Aurora snickered, disdain obvious in her voice. "And his taste is peculiar too. It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman. He takes all. And oh! He likes them young too."

Kaden grinned. "How convenient," he whispered.

"The Empire is full of beautiful boys and girls."

Aurora laughed.

Soon, Kaden's flame erupted from his hands and enveloped all the sleeping men.

Their memories were altered. Their emotions manipulated.

At the end, Kaden and Aurora disappeared from the underground, having set into place their first seed.

The men soon woke up, finding all the doundous alive, wondering what happened for them to sleep here on the floor.

Brushing it off, they continued their task as usual, feeling nothing unusual, without knowing they were no longer the same people…

…but completely different beings, altered by a fifteen-year-old boy.

…

"Where is he?" A woman asked, her voice thick with disdain and disgust, "Still in his chamber, I suppose."

Her hair was cut short, barely going past her ears, shining a deep golden so bright one could believe it had condensed into liquid. Her eyes were of the same color, golden with a hint of white inside, and hot like the sun hanging above the empire during the day.

She wore a white nightgown that stopped just above her knees, sleeveless, and slightly transparent under the blinding light of the golden room.

She was Shamsi Appolonia Asterion, The Sun Empress.

Her words were addressed to the woman in front of her, wearing the standard maid dress, yet the power emanating from her was enough to make most noble houses kneel in dread.

Her red-white hair fell over her face, her purple eyes sharp and cold. Her left eye was hidden beneath the fold of her hair.

She bowed her head. "Yes, my lady," she said, "Lord Klaus is inside his chamber."

"How many did he bring today?" Shamsi asked directly, her voice edged with that biting coldness one would never expect from a Sun.

The maid hesitated for a brief second, before sighing inwardly and parting her red colored lips. "Seven, my lady."

Shamsi's golden-white eyes became dead, any emotions buried beneath the fold of her immaculate control…control strong enough to stop her rage from detonating the whole castle in one heartbeat.

She simply sat there, cursing not only her late father for forcing her to marry a Morningstar, but also herself for accepting it.

She did not even know how she managed to bear the sight of his face all these years, much less bear two children for him.

The mere thought of him laying his hand on her made her stomach churn with poisonous disgust, and an unreasonable distaste for her own children swelled inside her heart, refusing to be swallowed down. Something she always tried to hide, and always failed.

Only Solaris was somehow an exception, as she could see more than Klaus in her.

But that was all.

She did not see in him the bearing of an emperor. In her eyes, he was only a spoiled child who thought the world existed for him to do whatever he pleased. That the world would bend for him because of his birthright.

So pitiful, she disdainfully thought.

And yet Soleil was no better. He was more of a soldier than an emperor, having the innate ability to follow orders.

Innate? Ah well, maybe not so innate after all. Maybe someone had made sure he became what he was now.

But still, if he had been receiving good orders, things would have been different. But when the one whispering into his ears was a gigolo…

Then one could predict his way of thinking, and his eventual downfall.

None of her two children were satisfactory. None of them worthy of the throne they were fighting so hard for.

"As expected," Shamsi spat, "I have no expectation from a father like him, but they turned out to be even more of a disappointment."

The maid said nothing. She was used to her lady's contempt for her own family.

Then, suddenly, as if a shift had rippled through her, Shamsi's face softened, becoming gentler.

"Where is he?" she asked suddenly, "Nothing happened to him?"

"Nothing, my lady," the maid answered, "Like any good seedling, growing fine and strong."

Shamsi nodded, pleased.

"Keep a good eye on him, and make sure no one finds out about him." She grated, her eyes flashing a blazing hue for a heartbeat.

The maid bowed in acknowledgment.

Shamsi leaned her back against the bedframe, closing her eyes to calm her raging thoughts. Without wanting to, she could hear in the room behind her the cries and moans of both men and women.

Her face twisted in disgust. Her hands clenched on either side of her body.

She was just here, yet her so-called husband was holding an orgy right beside her. In her own house. Using the authority he gained by marrying her to gather men and women like cattle.

At times like this, Shamsi couldn't help but wish her twin sister Sora had become the empress. Sometimes she allowed herself to wonder what her life would have been.

Would she be happier? Would she be with the ones she truly cared about, and not these worthless men she found herself surrounded by?

She wondered.

But it was far too late.

She had chosen the throne, and so she must bear the downsides of being the Sun.

And yet, as a Sun…

She would never allow her dignity and pride to be trampled without consequences.

'Enjoy it while you can,' she whispered inwardly, then closed her eyes, intending to sleep with the moans of her own husband being pleasured as a lullaby.

The maid shook her head in slight pity and excused herself.

Not pity for the Sun Empress.

But for the ones about to bear her accumulated wrath.

—End of Chapter 328—

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