Zen closed his eyes. "System," he thought. "Now."

[Dual Fragment Window Detected.]

[Host: Valeria — ’Body’ Fragment exposure at 95%. Initiating siphon.]

[Host: Nyx — ’Shadow’ Fragment exposure at 93%. Initiating siphon.]

He drew a slow, controlled breath, activated Primordial Breathing and reached inward through the residual mana threads still connecting him to both of them.

The thin, warm lines of power felt like roots, still giving off heat, and pulsing with the aftershock of everything that had just happened.

Valeria’s ’Body’ fragment was close to the surface, just like her personality. She was always loud and physical, and her soul was the same. He latched onto it gently, like picking a lock instead of breaking down a door.

Then he pulled.

The fragment resisted for exactly one second, the way a deep splinter does before it finally gives. Then it came loose in a long, burning rush that travelled straight up his sternum and settled behind his ribs like a hot coal being pressed into cold clay.

[’Body’ Fragment Siphoned — 50% recovered.]

[Total ’Body’ Fragment reclaimed: 53.7%.]

He exhaled steadily through his nose and immediately shifted focus to Nyx.

Her ’Shadow’ fragment was completely different... he had known this from the first time he tried extracting. It kept folding inward on itself the way her personality did, always retreating behind layers of data and calculation.

He just had to be patient. He followed the thread of it instead of grabbing for it, tracking its movement through her core the way you track a fish through dark water. Then he found the loose edge and drew on it in a slow, even pull.

[’Shadow’ Fragment Siphoned — 10% recovered.]

[Total ’Shadow’ Fragment reclaimed: 65%.]

The moment both threads snapped clean, a violent wave of heat detonated inside his chest.

Zen gritted his teeth and pressed one hand flat against the wall beside the bed to keep himself upright.

The stolen power slammed into his core. White light blurred the edges of his vision as his knuckles cracked under the strain. It wasn’t exactly pain; it felt like he was being filled with something too big for his body, every part of him stretching to hold the pressure.

[Warning: Massive mana influx. Core restructuring in progress.]

[Congratulations, Host.]

[You have broken through High C-Rank.]

[Evolution complete. Current Status: Low B-Rank.]

The breath Zen finally let out was long and unsteady.

His hands were shaking, but not from weakness. It was exactly the opposite. His muscles felt dense and coiled, like cables that had just been pulled taut for the first time.

The ambient mana in the room moved toward him without being called, drifting lazily around his forearms the way smoke curls toward a heat source.

He stood there for a moment. Just breathing, and letting it settle.

Then he looked at them.

Valeria had curled onto her side, one arm tucked loosely under her cheek. Her red eyes were closed, her expression completely unguarded for the first time since she had walked into his classroom in those ridiculous fake glasses.

She looked younger like that. Almost peaceful, if you ignored the faint golden shimmer still pulsing at her fingertips out of pure unconscious reflex, her body on guard even while her mind slept.

Nyx had gone completely still beside her, the purple circuitry lines across her skin faded down to a dim, slow glow. Her breathing was deep and even. Her expression, for once, had nothing calculating in it at all.

Both of them were out cold.

Zen reached down and carefully slid his arms under Valeria, lifting her without any effort. That alone stopped him for half a second... the ease of it.

Three weeks ago, picking up a standard training sword had made his arms shake. Now he carried the Goddess of War across the room like she weighed nothing at all and laid her down gently on the far side of the bed, pulling the sheet over her shoulder.

He did the same with Nyx, settling her beside Valeria and smoothing the silk over both of them.

He stood at the edge of the bed for a quiet moment, looking down at the two most dangerous women on the continent lying there like they hadn’t a care in the world.

"You both did well," he said quietly. "Rest and recover."

Neither of them stirred.

Then he turned and walked to the bathroom.

—

The shower ran hot. Zen stood under it with both arms braced against the tile wall, letting the water run down his back while the last of the mana tremors worked their way out of his system.

After a minute, he pushed off the wall and rolled his shoulders.

He flexed his right hand slowly, watching the tendons shift under the skin. When he made a fist, a thin pocket of mana gathered around his grip, making the air around his knuckles push inward a little.

He did not even have to ask it to; the mana was simply reacting to him, like a loyal dog greeting its owner after a long time away.

Low B-Rank.

Weeks ago, when he had just awakened in this world, he had been coughing blood on a dirty alley floor after sliding three stories down a rusted pipe to escape Kaelan.

His hands had shaken just trying to fix a broken drone. Now the ambient mana in a penthouse bathroom treated him like iron filings treat a magnet.

He almost smiled.

He turned the water off, dried off, and dressed quickly. He put on a dark jacket and plain pants... nothing that would stand out. He checked his reflection once in the bathroom mirror, ran a hand through his damp hair, and looked at himself for a moment longer than necessary.

His face was the same one he woke up with six weeks ago. He had tired eyes and features that people would forget. Nothing about him screamed former Emperor

Good. That was the whole point.

He walked back through the bedroom without stopping. Both Goddesses were still asleep. The sheet over Valeria rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Nyx hadn’t moved a centimeter. He left without a sound.

—

The elevator hummed down to the lobby. Zen stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the polished metal doors.

"System," he said quietly. "Pull up the Goddess-Eye network. I need to find Maya."