Sleep took her quickly, dragging her into its depths before she even realized she was slipping under. One mont, Liria was staring at the ceiling, her thoughts tangled with the Dark Sovereign's voice, her mother's voice, curling around her mind like a creeping vine. The next, she was sowhere else entirely.
A dream. But not a normal one.
The air shimred, thick and heavy, pulsing like a living thing. The space around her was endless, dark, stretching in all directions without horizon or sky. And in the center of it all stood a single figure, waiting for her.
[Took you long enough.]
Liria exhaled sharply, crossing her arms. "I didn't choose to be here, you know."
[No, but you need to be here.]
The system's voice was as dry and amused as ever, but there was sothing else beneath it. Sothing rare. Seriousness.
Liria frowned. "What is this place?"
[Your mind. Sort of. Think of it as… a battlefield.]
A battlefield? She looked around again, and for the first ti, she noticed sothing wrong. The darkness wasn't just empty. It was shifting, moving, writhing.
Sothing lurked beneath the surface, hidden in the shadows, waiting.
Waiting for her.
A slow, sick realization curled in her gut. "She's already here, isn't she?"
[Not completely. Not yet. But she's pushing in. And if you don't learn to resist, she will take over. Permanently.]
A chill slid down Liria's spine, but she forced herself to stay still. To stay calm. "Then teach ."
The system chuckled.
[Gladly.]
And the world exploded.
Liria moved without thinking, instincts snapping to life as a wave of raw force crashed toward her. She barely had ti to dodge before the ground beneath her feet shattered, black fragnts dissolving into nothingness.
The attack had no source. No form. It was just power, unrestrained, a force pressing against her mind like invisible hands trying to pry her apart.
And it felt familiar.
Too familiar.
She gritted her teeth, pushing back, summoning her own strength to counter it. Flas roared to life in her hands, a wild inferno crackling between her fingers.
And then the system was behind her.
[You're thinking too much.]
A sharp pressure struck her spine, and Liria stumbled forward, barely catching herself before another blast of energy crashed into her side.
"Did you just—"
[Attack you? Yes.]
She spun, glaring. "What the hell? I thought you were supposed to be helping !"
[I am helping you. You need to react faster. You need to control that new strength of yours before she does it for you.]
Liria clenched her fists.
Fine.
She launched herself forward, her body moving faster than it ever had before. Power thrumd through her muscles, her newfound strength making each step feel like she was barely touching the ground.
And the system t her head-on.
They clashed in the void, blow after blow, Liria moving on instinct, learning with every strike. Her fire burned hotter, her reflexes sharpened, her magic surged through her veins like lightning.
But the dark presence still lood in the distance.
Watching.
Waiting.
The system's voice cut through the haze.
[You're strong, but strength alone isn't enough. If you want to survive this, you need control. You need to be stronger than her ntally. Physically. Every damn way.]
Liria's breath ca hard and fast, her body aching from the relentless pace. But she wasn't stopping.
She couldn't stop.
Not when the Dark Sovereign was already clawing her way into Liria's mind.
Not when she was getting closer.
And not when Liria knew deep down that if she lost this fight, she might never wake up again.
The training continued, relentless and brutal, ti stretching in the dream-world with no sense of hours or minutes. The system pushed her to the edge, forcing her to adapt, to refine her raw power into sothing she could control.
And Liria did.
Slowly, steadily, she learned to push back against the invading presence. She learned to anchor herself, to fortify her mind against the whispers in the dark. She learned that her body, her power, was hers to command.
But learning was one thing. Mastery was another.
The system didn't let up, didn't allow her a mont to breathe, to process. The dream-world bent and shifted, throwing her into battle again and again.
[Again.]
Liria barely had ti to react before the next attack struck. A wave of pure force slamd into her, sending her skidding back across the void. The darkness under her feet cracked from the impact, splintering like glass.
She caught herself before she fell, gritting her teeth as the force surged toward her once more. This ti, she was ready.
She lifted her hand, and a barrier of flas erupted around her, her fire, controlled and shaped by her will. The blast hit the fire, and instead of breaking through, it scattered.
It was the first ti she had truly stopped an attack.
The system humd in approval.
[Better. But too slow.]
Liria barely had a second to brace before the ground beneath her feet vanished.
Her stomach lurched as she plumted, the void swallowing her whole. Panic flared in her chest she had nothing to hold onto, nothing to push against—
No.
She had herself.
Liria twisted in midair, reaching inside for that power, for the strength surging in her veins. And she commanded it.
Flas roared to life beneath her, solidifying into a platform of molten embers. She landed hard but steady, her legs absorbing the impact. The void stretched around her again, and the system's voice rang out.
[That's more like it.]
Liria exhaled sharply, sweat dripping down her temple. "Are you trying to kill ?"
[If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. I'm making sure you don't get yourself killed. Now, again.]
Before she could protest, the dream-world shifted again.
This ti, she wasn't falling. She was running.
The darkness warped around her, jagged, twisting spires of black rock rising in all directions. A presence chased her—her mother's presence and no matter how fast she moved, she could feel it gaining.
The weight of it pressed down on her mind, curling around her thoughts, whispering, calling—
No.
Liria forced the whispers back, gritting her teeth as she turned sharply and leapt. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire
Flas surged beneath her, propelling her into the air, and she twisted, flipping mid-motion. With a sharp exhale, she hurled a fireball downward.
The explosion was deafening. The force sent her higher, and she landed on one of the spires, balancing with ease.
[Good instincts.]
The system's voice cut through the chaos, but Liria barely heard it. The presence was still there, lurking, waiting for her to slip.
She wouldn't.
The dream twisted again, and suddenly, she wasn't running. She was standing in a field of embers, surrounded by shadows. The system materialized before her not as a voice, but as a silhouette, tall and indistinct.
[Now, the real test.]
The darkness around her moved.
Shadows peeled away from the ground, twisting into monstrous forms hulking, faceless creatures with eyes like burning coals. There were dozens of them, their forms shifting unnaturally, dripping with the sa presence she had felt in her own mind.
Liria clenched her fists. "What the hell is this?"
[Your mother's influence. Every ti you hesitate, every ti you doubt, she gets stronger. She's already rooted deep inside you, waiting for her mont to take control.]
The shadows lurched forward.
Liria moved.
She t the first creature head-on, flas bursting from her hands as she tore through it. The fire seared through its form, and it let out a horrible, twisting shriek before dissolving into smoke.
But there were more.
They ca at her from all sides, and Liria fought like a storm unleashed. Every strike burned hotter, every motion sharper. She dodged, countered, struck with precision.
For the first ti, she wasn't just reacting. She was in control.
But the presence her mother's presence was still pressing in.
Liria gritted her teeth. Not enough.
She pushed harder, calling on more power, more flas, more a sudden pain shot through her skull, white-hot and searing.
Her knees buckled.
The flas wavered.
And the shadows pounced.
[Liria!]
The system's voice was sharp, but distant. The whispers poured into her mind, wrapping around her like chains.
You're mine.
The voice slithered through her consciousness, curling deep, deep inside , you will always be mine.
Liria gasped, fighting against it, trying to push back but her body wasn't responding. Her vision blurred, darkness creeping in No.
She wouldn't let this happen.
Not again.
She tore herself free.
A shockwave of energy erupted from within her, a burning inferno that blasted outward in all directions. The shadows scread as they were consud, devoured by the sheer force of Liria's will.
The chains in her mind snapped.
And the presence her mother's presence recoiled.
For the first ti, Liria felt it weaken.
She fell to her knees, breathing hard, body trembling from the sheer force of what had just happened. The dream-world steadied, the chaos fading into silence.
The system's voice, softer this ti, spoke.
[That… was impressive.]
Liria let out a shaky breath. "Did I…" She swallowed. "Did I do it?"
[For now.]
She looked up, frowning. "That's not exactly reassuring."
[She's not gone. She's never going to be gone, not completely.] The system paused. [But now? She's not in control. You are.]
Liria stared down at her hands. They were steady.
Her heart was steady.
The whispers were gone.
For the first ti, she truly felt it.
Her power belonged to her.
And no one else.
She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly.
When she woke up, she wouldn't be afraid.
She would be ready.
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