The confrontation among the four Saintesses ( or rather, three Empresses and one distinguished prisoner) took place in a private strategy chamber adjacent to the Imperial Throne Room.
Aria Stormsong, now designated as the Empress of War, stood before Seraphina and Lilith, her gold-armored presence dominating the room. Evelina Frostheart sat quietly on a bench in the corner, like a neutral observer. Her expression was icy indifference.
Seraphina, the First Empress, addressed Aria first, her tone respectful yet suspicious.
"Sister Aria, your sudden change of allegiance is... monuntal. Vahn trusts your decision, and we trust Vahn. But you spent months fighting against him. Can you truly expect us to believe that a single conversation shifted your lifelong commitnt to the Righteous Faction?"
Lilith was more direct. "You appeared here intent on violence. You are a Tribulation Realm Saintess—the single biggest threat to this Dynasty. Then why exactly did you exchange your vengeance for a ring and a title? Tell us your truth, not just your vow to our Emperor."
Aria t their scrutiny head-on, her purple eyes steady. She spoke with the blunt, unvarnished honesty of a soldier.
"You are correct. I truly ca here to kill him, or at least capture him and drag him back to face the judgnt of the Faction," Aria admitted, making no effort to soften the fact.
"I had spent every waking mont in the Tower, striving for the power necessary to defeat the man who I believed was bringing chaos to the world."
She paused, looking out a narrow window where the flags of the Void Empire waved against the conquered city.
"But along the way, while fighting my way out of the Tower, I received the reports. I noticed the changes the Southern Continent had undergone in my absence. The Holy Land of Ice was a place of stagnation and spiritual oppression, cloaked in false purity. Yet, in just weeks of the Void Emperor’s rule, the common people were happy and thriving."
Aria turned back, her gaze sweeping over the two Empresses.
"They were suddenly granted land, access to new spiritual resources, protection from corrupt nobles, and an opportunity for growth that had been denied them for centuries. All of this, because of one man’s ruthlessness and efficiency."
The confession was damning for the Divine path she had previously followed.
"Since then, I began to question everything we used to believe. The Righteous Faction preaches virtue but practices stagnation and hypocrisy. Vahn preaches tyranny but delivers salvation and progress."
"And when he talked to about becoming his Empress of War, offering complete freedom over my power and my command... I realized that this was the truest expression of the Dao of War I could achieve. To fight for the only man strong enough to challenge the cosmic order, and to fight for a new empire built on rit, not on divine mandate. I couldn’t refuse."
She finally looked directly at Seraphina and Lilith with a hint of defiance entering her voice, mixed with competitiveness.
"And why should I alone fight against him, suffer isolation, and condemn myself to endless trials, while you three stand here happy and whole, protected by his power?"
Aria concluded with a fierce resolution. "I was also one of his wives. I will not be a martyr for a lie. From today, I wish to live for myself, for my power, and for the dominance of the only Empire that recognizes my true worth."
The four won exchanged glances. The sudden expansion of the family dynamics was becoming incredibly complex, mixing deep loyalty, suspicion, and now, fierce competitiveness for influence.
Yet, beneath the tension, there was a shared foundation: they all had trust in Vahn. They trust in his power to protect them, and trust that his ruthlessness was always directed outward.
Evelina, the captive, finally spoke, a low, frosty murmur. "She is not wrong. He is a tyrant, but he is a pragmatic one. We were fools."
She looked out the window again, muttering under her breath, "Becoming that Tyrant’s puppet? Never..."
But even her conviction sounded shaky now.
Later that evening, in the central courtyard where Vahn was reviewing the military integration reports, Ezekiel approached him with a grave expression, his usually stoic deanor marked by palpable alarm.
"Your Majesty," Ezekiel reported, bowing formally. "I have received urgent intelligence from our highest-tier spiritual reconnaissance scouts. The news is worrying."
"Speak, Ezekiel," Vahn commanded, folding the reports on resource allocation.
"The Tower Of Primordials," Ezekiel began, his voice lowered. "The dinsional tower that connects to the hidden cosmic training grounds, the very tower where Empress Aria gained her power, it has suddenly and completely disappeared from the Western Continent."
Vahn’s composure finally cracked. His eyes flashed with a potent mix of surprise and concern. The Tower was an anchor point, a massive and ancient structure designed to resist dinsional interference. Its complete removal was an event of cosmic magnitude.
"Disappeared? How?" Vahn demanded, standing up. "A structure of that size possesses inherent defensive barriers that make even Immortal-level removal impossible. Who could have taken it?"
Ezekiel shook his head. "There are no residual spiritual signatures, no dinsional tear residue. It was as clean as if the structure simply ceased to exist here and rematerialized elsewhere. The consensus among the few remaining ancient spiritualists is that only a being of Golden Immortal status, utilizing a primordial artifact specifically designed for dinsional relocation, could accomplish such a feat."
Vahn paced the room, the sudden disappearance of the Tower raising strategic alarms.
"A Golden Immortal..." Vahn mused. "That narrows the list considerably. It could be my father’s kin, retrieving resources before the Heavenly Gods retaliate. Or it could be a deliberate move by the heavenly Gods themselves, attempting to consolidate their cosmic resources and prevent ambitious cultivators like Aria from gaining further power outside their direct control."
Ezekiel nodded and added,
"The most imdiate concern your Majesty is that, if the Gods can move an entire cosmic artifact at will, they can also bypass our the lower world restrictions and directly target the Void Empire."
Vahn nodded, his face hardening with renewed determination.
"The ti for mortal consolidation is over. The ga has escalated. If the Gods are preparing to mobilize their ultimate power, I must et them on their own terms."
The unsettling event of the vanishing Tower solidified Vahn’s next imdiate goal: rapid, massive breakthrough. His Soul Transformation Stage - 7 was dominant in Dalu, but utterly insufficient to face a true Earth Immortal or a mobilized Goddess. He needed to reach the next fundantal realm: the Void Shattering Realm.
Vahn gathered Seraphina, Lilith, Aria, and Luminaire to communicate his decision.
"I will enter seclusion imdiately to achieve the Void Shattering Realm. This breakthrough is critical," Vahn stated, looking at his mother, Luminaire.
"And you will face the Heavenly Tribulation that cos with it, Som. The power you command will summon a calamity that could shatter this planet," Luminaire warned him gravely.
Vahn smiled, a dark, confident expression.
"Then I will simply refuse to allow the Heavens to judge ."
"This ti, I will go through the process in the Void Realm itself, a primordial space beyond the jurisdiction of the Heavens. The Void Realm is a vast, empty expanse that exists outside conventional dinsions, where the Heavens have no influence. aning, there would be no Heavenly Tribulation there."
The plan was audacious: to use the Void Power to enter the ultimate Void Realm, refine his entire existence using the raw energy of annihilation, and achieve the Void Shattering Realm without facing the judgnt of the very Heavens he was actively defying.
With the formidable trio of Seraphina, Lilith, and Aria now commanding the military and the presence of Luminaire acting as the absolute defensive anchor, Vahn felt confident enough to take this necessary risk. He handed over the Imperial Seal, giving full command authority to the Empresses, and prepared for his dinsional leap.
"I will return as a Shattering Realm Emperor," Vahn promised, eting the gaze of his four powerful won. "Until then, the Void Empire is yours to command. Show them the ruthlessness of true sovereignty."
Seraphina and Lilith nodded. They thought this journey was one of countless one had. So they weren’t too worried.
They just planted kiss on his lips as farewell.
Aria though seed a little absentminded.
"What’s wrong, Aria? Are you planning sothing dark?" Vahn asked jokingly.
Aria matched his gaze fiercely. "Don’t take a warrior’s vow so lowly, Vahn. Since, I have said I am the War Empress of Void Empire, I will act as my part with full loyalty."
"So why are you thinking too much then? Co.. give a kiss."
Smiling, he domineeringly pulled her by the hand and claid her luscious velvet lips.
Smooch...
Aria couldn’t protest. Her lips were sealed, tongue entangled with his and her body was wrapped close with his strong masculine arms.
Seraphina and Lilith looked away, but a faint smile crept onto their face.
Only their husband can ta this wild horse, they thought.
However, Evelina didn’t receive any kiss as she didn’t agree to be his wives yet. That left feeling empty inside.
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