Inside the darkness, one that felt closely to emptiness, Kaden drifted away peacefully before exhaling softly.

Immediately, notifications flared in front of him.

{You have successfully completed your mythic quest, Kaden Warborn.}

{Evaluation: Apotheotic.}

Kaden raised a tired eyebrow at this, but The Will was not done yet.

{You have achieved, Prometheus, something few in all history of Fokay had ever achieved.}

{You have prevented the pathetic death of the Last Star. You have awakened the True Voice of the one blessed by Voice itself. You have awakened the destiny of The Honored.}

{You have shed light into the whisper of the origin of the Empire of the Damned.}

Here, Kaden raised an eyebrow. 'This name sounds familiar.' He thought.

{You have made the Black Phoenix remember and, most importantly… you have made many remember.}

{You have made known the name Prometheus. And that to both gods and mortals.}

{You went to the past and managed to change events that would have consequences in the current timeline.}

{That's glorious, Kaden Warborn.}

Seeing all these notifications, Kaden couldn't but groan slightly. Did he truly do all of this?

All he did was try to save a doomed young woman. How come, at the end, all of these managed to happen?

That was a curious question, one that Kaden wanted an answer to. Yet he wouldn't, at least for now, as The Will was still speaking.

{For this achievement, you have received additional rewards.}

The Will paused, letting Kaden gather himself before continuing…

{You have received a new title: The Burdened.}

{Your Seed of Prometheus will be only complete if you integrate within it all the lineage of the Phoenix family and the Fire of both the Known World and the Unseen World.}

{You have attracted many attentions, and the name Prometheus holds now power. Use it scarcely, for gods could track you by the name.}

{The Broken Mind is fully awake. She will stop at nothing to honor the Mad Sun Emperor and deliver her own judgment.}

Kaden expected it to be done. Logically, it was only three informations The Will gave to one who did glorious deeds. Yet this time, The Will added one more.

{The completion of the Death aspect of your bloodline will be done in The Witch's territory. For she holds the second half.}

Kaden frowned at this. Something was guiding him toward The Witch lately.

There was that goddess Kol's Riku and now The Will itself.

Was this any kind of hidden scheme?

Kaden didn't know, but somehow he didn't care either.

He just wanted to be done with it. He was tired and he needed to see if his brother was okay, visit his subordinates of The Crimson Veil to know if everything was alright, then go back home.

He didn't know who would try to stop him this time, but that person better be ready to bear the consequences of that action.

And that, even if that person was the bloody Empress of the Celestial Empire herself.

As if sensing the tiredness and weariness of Kaden, The Will decided to finish this little session of rewards.

{Kaden Warborn,} The Will said, and this time Kaden felt like it was actually calling him and not only saying his name.

Unconsciously, he straightened his back and focused.

The Will continued smoothly.

{Power attracts Power, Kaden Warborn. That's the rule of the world.}

{And you, The Burdened, have power. Bear that in mind, for now the divine are aware of your existence.}

{And most of them wish you death.}

Kaden's heart skipped a beat at that information. Then slowly a crooked smile split onto his face,

"Do they really?"

The Will paused, then…

{You are ascending to Grandmaster rank, O The Burdened. Brace yourself!}

A sharp and overwhelming pain bathed the whole body of Kaden. And yet…

'Let's just be done with it.'

The man was completely unbothered.

Kaden's ascension had begun and soon it would end.

…

The quest Kaden completed had far-reaching consequences that even he couldn't begin to fathom.

But the most immediate consequences were already unfolding in a mesmerizing manner in some corners of Fokay.

In the capital of the Celestial Empire, inside the Royal Castle of the Asterion, in the Princess's room, something fascinating was happening.

Sora was, once again, sleeping. But that sleep was different, for Sora was smiling widely despite the tears flowing down her cheeks.

Inside her dream, she finally heard the coin spinning, the thing she had been awaiting for so long without knowing why.

The coin's spinning came with herself vomiting black substance not only out of her mouth, but through her whole body.

The substance had a very disgusting smell, constantly bubbling and sizzling. The scent bloated the room immediately, making even the slum area smell heavenly.

After discarding the curse and impurities, Sora's body next began to glow with a blazing ethereal light.

Inside her mind, the voice of her goddess rang sharply — soothing, calm, and even happy.

It was the goddess that had chosen her across timelines and continued to support her despite everything.

Kol's Riku, the Voice of Existence herself.

'You have been freed,' she whispered, 'The mythic name is Pro*****. His normal name is Kaden Warborn.'

'But you called him Handsome Knight.' Here, her voice was almost amused.

'Now, my child, wake up. Your voice has returned to you. You have your duty. You have your destiny.'

The glow of Sora's body intensified significantly. Her hair became more gilded, and her beauty intensified greatly.

And inside her body, beside the Sun inheritance, Sora began to awaken a mythic-rank origin. One that belonged only to her, one she obtained with her own achievement.

Her eyes then fluttered open, showing deep golden irises shimmering with unshed tears.

Sora put her hands on the bed soaked in filth and propelled herself up. Next, she sat in a kneeling position in the middle of her bed, her expression lost and deeply thoughtful.

She sat there, her body warming because of her slowly awakening Voice Origin, not minding the obscene smell around her. Her mind was replaying everything Lady Sora had lived back in the past, and that included her interaction with Kaden inside the quest.

She came to know what Kaden had done for her, despite what her past self had done to him.

Her heart suddenly became heavy and tears fell down.

Sora felt ashamed. She felt deeply and terrifyingly ashamed to even begin imagining how she should face Kaden now.

From two different timelines, the man had done nothing but help her.

And what did she do?

She used him in the first timeline, making him bear her curse, and in the second one she made him captured and imprisoned by her own family.

She began to choke on her own tears as she put her two hands on her face, tears spilling in cascades.

"I am sorry." She sobbed, "I am sorry, Kaden. I am truly sorry."

She didn't know what she has to do. She didn't know what sacrifice she would need to make. But…

"No matter what, I will pay you back. No matter what."

She had regained her voice, and with that a mythic Origin, but she also inherited the memories of her past self… memories that held many painful moments.

But that was the price. For no power shall be gained without one in this world.

Sora was ready to shoulder that price.

She was ready to do anything for Kaden to forgive her, for truly…

'He… he is my only friend,' she thought, clenching her fists tightly.

Yes, he was the only one. And besides friendship, something else began to bloom inside her heart.

Something she feared greatly and didn't even want to think about. Yet it was something that made her eager to see Kaden once more, despite the fear of his reaction.

So without hesitation, she sprinted toward the bathroom to clean herself in order to go to the Madhouse.

…

Sora was not the only one.

In the same Asterion's castle, Sirius was leaned over the wall of his bed, inside his chamber with a smirk on his beautiful face.

Luna was lying down on him, her head on his lap, enjoying the caress of Sirius.

She was very happy and very proud at that moment. After all, Sirius only caressed her hair and not anyone else's.

To Luna, that was something worthy of being proud of.

'Ah, I love him so much!' Luna moaned inwardly, thinking how she could die for a smile on Sirius's face. Literally.

But soon her expression became serious as she remembered the words her prince said to her not long ago.

"My prince," Luna called, prompting Sirius to lower his eyes and stare down at her.

Looking at him, there was nothing that changed externally. He was still unfairly beautiful. But internally, she knew something did.

Her prince wouldn't stop talking about a certain Rab shouting constantly inside his head. But that was not all…

"My prince, are you sure that… you no longer wish to pursue the throne?" Luna asked, tone hesitant.

At her question, Sirius only smiled, his eyes now staring at the ceiling where the golden light floated like jellyfish.

"My destiny. That was the thing I have always pursued in my life, for I was born with everything," Sirius said, voice surprisingly soft, "I believed the throne was my destiny, so I pursued it. But now something happened, darling."

"Something reached me, and with it memories from a time I could not tell. But the point is I have finally found what I have been seeking all this time."

He smiled, and it was the first time Luna saw such a beautiful and honest smile on her lover.

Her heart skipped a dangerous beat. She almost died of heart attack, she believed.

Sirius lowered his head and stared at her with that same expression, "I have found my destiny, darling. A great path, one that would make me the only Honored One between heavens and Earth."

He grinned,

"Are you with me, Luna? For this path would be one of perils."

At his question, Luna scoffed openly at her prince. She slowly staggered up, mounted Sirius, and held his two cheeks within her palms.

She leaned her face forward, enough for their breaths to dance sensually and for each to feel the scent of the other.

"What a silly question, my prince," she said, putting her forehead to his, "I am wherever you are. I already told you."

"You are the only thing I have and the only thing I care about in this world. I will follow you wherever you go."

"Even if it's the deepest pit of Hell?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

Luna mirrored his smirk, "Even so, my prince. I will gladly burn with you, for you."

They stared at each other, smiled, before their lips crashed together sensually.

There was no need for words anymore, for everything was already said.

And at that moment, during that kiss, Luna became aware of something. Something she never believed would ever come true in all her life.

She began to feel the deep and bottomless emotions that Sirius was letting her know. And know she did.

Her prince, her master, her everything… loved her.

He loved her truly.

At that realization, tears of happiness trickled down. Without parting their lips from each other,

"I love you, my prince," Luna muffled out. This time, she couldn't help but say it openly.

She confessed her love.

At that, Sirius smiled, his eyes now holding an obvious touch of softness.

"Darling," his smile deepened, "I will never let you burn for me."

Luna's smile bloomed even more.

Ah…

Beautiful is a woman in love.

—End of Chapter 353—

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