In a unique and mysterious garden, where the air carried an eerie stillness,
“….”
Master sat motionless, his eyes blankly fixed on the screen before him, watching something extraordinary unfold—
It wasn’t just him…. Four holographic figures sat alongside him, their gazes locked onto the same screen, all witnessing the same impossible sight—Victor standing tall, holding the entire Empire in his grasp.
The dragons, in perfect unison, unleashed torrents of flames, each one surging through the interconnected tunnels that led to the Empire’s very foundation. The roaring fire converged upon Victor, pouring into him like an unstoppable tide, vanishing into his body as if he were an endless abyss.
His form trembled with power, his veins pulsing as his body absorbed the sheer magnitude of energy. A faint glow spread across his skin, intensifying with every passing second, until—
A pure, blinding purple light burst forth, momentarily erasing everything from view!
“He is a threat,” one of the holograms spoke, his voice sharp, unwavering, and devoid of hesitation.
The Master nodded grimly.
They all felt it.
That deep, unsettling uneasiness clawing at them. Even though Victor belonged to their organization, this… this was something else entirely.
Something beyond their control… Something they had never agreed to!
They all knew what Victor was…. Unstable! Unpredictable!!
A force of chaos wrapped in human flesh. He had even betrayed the Sovereign—the very woman who had taken him in as her disciple. If he could turn on her, then it was only a matter of time before he switched sides again.
The Master leaned in closer, his sharp eyes narrowing as he studied the screen. “He’s becoming more than just a usurper,” he murmured, his voice laced with something dangerously close to fascination. Then, after a pause, he added with a low intensity, “More than just a Dragon Emperor….”
It wasn’t just the Arcane Hunter organization that was shaken…. Every ruler across the world was watching, their expressions dark with concern.
And none more so than Empress Scarlet.
Seated upon her ornate throne, bathed in the dim crimson glow of her chamber, she observed the event in silence. Her piercing red eyes reflected the blinding light from the screen, her fingers absentmindedly tapping against the armrest.
It wasn’t simply Victor’s immense power or his bizarre ability to absorb arcane energy that troubled her—though that certainly played a part. No, the real danger lay elsewhere.
The unison!!
Up until now, dragons had always been forced into submission.
Their obedience had been dictated by the horns—the artifact that controlled them. Never in history had they possessed the freedom to choose their own path.
Never had they united of their own volition…. they were all under the every Dragon Emperor’s control!
And yet, now…
This man had brought them together.
Not through dominance.
Not through fear.
Not even through sheer power.
They had united to save him.
They had united to honour his sacrifice.
They had united… to take pride in him!
He had become their Pride!!
[+1000 AP]
[+1000 AP]
[+2000 AP]
[+1000 AP]
[+3000 AP]
…
…..
This was a dangerous shift for the remaining Empires. With the dragons now standing by Victor’s side, a single injury upon his body would summon their collective wrath upon the entire worlds.
People often mocked dragons, calling them mere oversized lizards, but in the grand cycle of predators… they reigned supreme!
A true apex predator should never be taken lightly!
The Pyra Empire slowly pushed up,
“ARRRRRRRHHHHH!!!”
Victor’s scream tore through the space, his voice raw with overwhelming sensation as his body writhed beneath the flames of the dragons. His veins bulged, throbbing with untamed force, his fingers twitching as power surged through every fibre of his being.
“OUR PRIDE!!”
The collective roar of the dragons exploded through the atmosphere, echoing far beyond the reaches of the world itself—resonating even in the void of space.
Victor felt it.
A warmth unlike anything he had ever known.
Not just power, but acceptance…. Devotion.. Love!!
[+1000 AP]
[+2000 AP]
[+1000 AP]
[+1000 AP]
[+2000 AP]
[+2000 AP]
[+2000 AP]
[+1000 AP]
[+3000 A—Error!]
[Error! Unable to process further points!]
!~Ding~!
[Affection Threshold Reached!]
!~Ding~!
[Affection Overload Triggered!]
!~Ding~!
[Affection Overload: Critical Level!]
!~Ding~!
[Affection Overload! Warning: Emotional capacity maxed out!]
The sheer weight of their emotions was too much. The Log itself trembled under the overwhelming surge of affection pouring into it from every citizen of his Empire.
Victor exhaled, a smirk playing at his lips, “Millions of people are watching this… what else do you think I broadcasted it for?” he murmured, his tone laced with amusement.
He would have been a fool to waste this golden opportunity—to let this moment pass without milking every last drop of affection from it.
And sure enough, as he glanced at his Log, he saw it.
It was breaking… Again!!
He couldn’t help but chuckle. But then—
!~Ding~!
[Affection Capacity Reached: 9,999,999,999 – MAX LIMIT!]
!~Ding~!
[Warning: Affection Points exceeding maximum threshold!]
[Error: Unable to stabilize the unpredictable overflow!]
[Log Struggling to Contain the Immeasurable Surge of Affection!]
!~Ding~!
[Request Detected: Self-Assign Overflow?]
!~Ding~!
[Authorization Granted!]
!~Ding~!
[Warning: The colossal amount of affection is being allocated through an emergency distribution protocol!]
[You have levelled up at an unprecedented rate!]
[Level: 83↑]
[Level: 84↑]
[Level: 85↑]
[Level: 86↑]
[Level: 87↑]
[Level: 88↑]
Victor’s eyes widened as his chuckle turned horrified!
“Fuck that! Stop!!”
[Level: 89↑]
“I SAID STOP, FUCKER!!” he roared, his expression twisting into one of sheer frustration as he tried to halt the insane escalation. He was already too powerful, but this… this was ridiculous!
!~Ding~!
[Overflow Warning: The affection points cannot be stopped due to an active soul-binding contract!]
[Level: 90↑]
Victor’s face turned pale—who would have thought that receiving this much affection could actually be dangerous for him?
Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fists, his entire body tense with urgency. He couldn’t allow this madness to continue. If his level increased to its peak… he knew he was screwed beyond saving.
And the reason?
Well… everyone would figure that out eventually, sooner or later.
But for now, he had to act fast.
“Why not transfer the points into my skills instead?” Victor asked impatiently, his voice sharp with desperation. He wasn’t even sure if that was possible, but at this point, he had no other choice. No matter what—he couldn’t afford to become any stronger! Not like this!
!~Ding~!
[Request Detected: Skill Modifications?]
[Processing…]
[…..]
[Analyzing Overflow Parameters…]
[…..]
[…..]
[Request Accepted!]
!~Ding~!
[Warning: The overwhelming Affection Points are being directly utilized to enhance your skills!]
[Log initializing targeted skill upgrades…]
!~Ding~!
[Collecting Overflowing Affection Points…]
[+1000 AP]
[+2000 AP]
[+1000 AP]
…
…..
Victor exhaled in relief, letting out a long breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. This was a win, sure…. But it was almost too much of a win. He needed to finish this before things spiralled out of control and became irreversible.
His legs ignited with bursts of violet flames, acting like thrusters as he propelled himself forward, inhaling the raw Arcane energy still pouring out from the dragons like an insatiable black hole but soon…
Looking up, he saw it.
Both Empires—Pyra and Naiadae—were almost perfectly perpendicular to each other now, suspended in the sky like twin monoliths on the verge of collision.
‘Well, this might actually work,’ he thought, a small smirk tugging at his lips before sending a mental signal to Raven through their telepathic link.
Raven, understanding instantly, glanced at Drakhairs. The latter gave a small nod before vanishing from the palace in a blink and reappearing at the shattered edge of their Empire.
In his grip, he held a massive, deep-black beam of material—one so impossibly dense and durable that it had come from the monstrous Elephant, a creature whose skin couldn’t even be dented by the Sovereign herself.
A perfect one for this!
Drakhairs sighed, shaking his head slightly. Just like before, it was his job to dock the two Empires together… And this time, there was no room for failure!
This was their final plan… Their last shot at survival!
“We’re really doing this?” Delphine called out, hovering at the Naiadae Empire’s edge.
Drakhairs nodded without hesitation before driving the beam into the ground with a heavy, resounding
THUD!
Preparing to fuse the two Empires into one colossal stronghold.
However—
‘Wait a damn minute…’
Victor’s expression shifted dramatically. Holding onto the Empire with sheer brute force, he frowned deeply as his sharp gaze locked onto the Naiadae Empire’s base.
The jagged rocks….. The tangled roots.
Something about them felt… off.
“Something’s wrong…” he muttered under his breath, his grip tightening around the Empire itself. His instincts screamed at him—This wasn’t how it should be.
Then he looked at the foundation of his own Empire.
And that same unsettling, gut-wrenching feeling washed over him again.
“Is this what I think it is…?” Victor whispered before immediately reaching out to Raven telepathically.
/Stop/
/Huh?/
/I think I’ve found something else. Stop Drakhairs. Do not let him dock the Empire./
Raven’s eyes flickered… Without hesitation, she nodded and snapped her fingers.
Drakhairs, mid-motion, flinched as if something had physically jolted him. He turned to her with a deep frown. “What’s wrong?” he asked, confusion evident in his tone.
And then—
The world tilted.
No.
It wasn’t the roots.
It was Victor.
He was the one shifting the entire Empire!
“What the hell is he doing?!” Everyone watched in shock as Victor pushed the Pyra Empire toward the Naiadae Empire with sheer, brute force, his muscles bulging with unrestrained power.
“He’s gone mad!”
“He’s trying to destroy us!”
Screams of panic erupted throughout the Naiadae Empire as its citizens looked up in sheer horror, convinced that Victor was about to crash Pyra straight into them, reducing everything to dust.
Sandra frowned, appearing at the very edge of the city, her purple eyes narrowing in confusion and irritation…. She turned toward Delphine.
“This… isn’t part of the plan, is it?” she asked, her voice laced with suspicion, her hands clenching into fists.
Just then—
BOOOOOMMMMMM!!!
Pyra Empire collided with Naiadae Empire.
“Tsk… a little to the left,” Victor muttered under his breath, adjusting his grip before pushing again with a grunt…. The flames from the dragons already stopped as they hit the fatigue point but it’s alright, Victor recharged too much, to be honest!
BOOOMMMMMM!
“Tsk… no, a little to the right.”
BOOOOMMMMMM!
“Tsk… again, a little to the right.”
BOOOOOOMMMMMM!
“Tsk… no, left this time.”
BOOOOOOMMMMMM!
“WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?!”
The entire Empire erupted in sheer panic as Victor continued slamming the two colossal structures together over and over again, as if he were adjusting something into place with terrifying precision.
Sandra, still watching from the edge, scowled in both irritation and confusion. ‘What is he trying to do now?’ she thought to herself before taking a deep breath and making her move.
Wrapping herself in a protective barrier, she soared out of the Empire, high into the space—far enough to finally see.
And when she did—
Her breath hitched in her throat.
“What the…”
For the first time, her expression flickered with genuine shock.
Because now, from this new angle, she saw what Victor had seen all along.
The Naiadae Empire’s foundation—its base—wasn’t random.
It wasn’t just rocks and roots thrown together by nature…. It was a puzzle?