Zen adjusted the dark cuffs of his jacket and turned to face the three women standing in the center of the penthouse living room.

"Are we ready?" he asked.

Maya rubbed her trembling hands together, looking down at her boots. "Not exactly."

Nyx and Valeria answered at the exact same time. "Yes."

Valeria crossed her arms beneath her breasts in a way that pushed them up, her red eyes narrowing as she glared at Maya. "Why did we even bring her? This is a diplomatic and highly dangerous trip to the Crown Domain. She is complete dead weight. We could just leave her behind here."

"I... I can be helpful," Maya stammered, shrinking back slightly from the Vanguard’s intense killing intent.

"Helpful?" Valeria scoffed loudly, stepping closer to the terrified healer. "You can barely handle the ambient mana in this room. You are going to embarrass him in front of the Empress. Zen, we should have shoved her on a high-speed train back to the academy where she belongs."

Zen’s expression went entirely flat.

He stepped between Valeria and Maya, his cold gaze locking onto the Goddess of War.

"Need I remind you, Valeria, that you were the one who brought here here from the academy in the first place? Or that it’s you two that are supposed to be left behind?" Zen’s voice had dropped into a dangerous, icy tone. "You are only standing here right now because I changed my mind at the last minute. Do not push your luck, or I will leave you locked in this penthouse instead."

Valeria’s fierce expression instantly melted. She bit her lower lip, a dark blush spreading across her cheeks at his authoritative tone. "Yes, Zen. I’m sorry. I just want what is best for you."

"I decide what is best," Zen replied smoothly.

Nyx smirked from the corner of the room, adjusting the collar of her sleek black stealth suit. "She does have a slight point, Emperor. The Crown Domain is a snake pit. The Betrothed does not play the same brute-force games as the Vanguard. She will eat the little healer alive."

Zen ignored Nyx. He turned his back to the Goddesses and gently placed his hands on Maya’s shoulders. She was shaking violently.

"Maya, look at me," Zen commanded softly.

Maya slowly raised her head, looking anxious. "I don’t belong there, Zen. They are Goddesses. I am just a student. I am going to ruin your plan."

"Relax," Zen told her. "I’m bringing you because I trust you. You are not dead weight. I need you to stop trying so hard to be brave, and just feel it."

"Feel what?" she whispered.

"You can feel my mana, right?" Zen asked, letting a tiny fraction of his newly formed Low B-Rank aura wrap around her. "It’s stable now. It’s strong. I want you to draw from it. Draw from my confidence and just be free. Stand tall."

Maya took a deep, shaky breath, letting his warm mana soothe her racing heart. "Okay. Okay, I can do that."

"Good," Zen said, stepping back. "Now, listen to me carefully. I need to remind you how the Empress rules. Aurelia does not run her territory like the Ares Domain or the Omni Domain."

"She is a tyrant," Valeria grumbled from the background.

"She rules through mental dominance," Zen continued, ignoring the Vanguard. "She uses extreme political manipulation, psychological warfare, and a terrifyingly loyal elite guard to get exactly what she wants. She holds the ’Mind’ fragment of my soul, Maya. That means she can read weaknesses and crush willpower without lifting a finger."

"So she is going to try and read my mind?" Maya asked, terrified all over again.

"She won’t care about your fragile mind," Nyx interjected with a cruel laugh. "She will only care about his. The Betrothed is a fanatic. She is obsessed with the flawless, divine image of the Emperor. She will view you as a dirty smudge on his perfect legacy."

"Nyx is right about one thing," Zen warned Maya. "Aurelia will test me the second we arrive. She will try to separate us to assert her dominance, to see if I am truly the Emperor reborn, or just some weak vessel she can control and lock away in a cage. Do not leave my side."

"I won’t," Maya promised. "I am staying right next to you."

"Then let’s move," Zen said.

They took the private elevator up to the roof of the tower, where Nyx had a sleek, heavily armored VTOL helicarrier ready. The flight across the continent was fast and silent.

In about two hours, the dark, neon-lit city of the Omni Domain was gone. They were now looking at the beautiful, rich architecture of the Crown Domain. Huge floating towers of white marble and woven gold pierced the clouds. It didn’t look like a dystopian, futuristic city; it looked like a real heaven built on the backs of authority.

The helicarrier descended rapidly, its thrusters humming loudly as it touched down on a polished marble landing pad just outside the Empress’s royal palace.

The heavy doors on the transport hissed open, and a ramp lowered to the ground.

Zen walked out first, the wind catching his dark jacket. Maya stepped out right beside him, with Nyx and Valeria flanking them like heavily armed shadows.

Zen looked around the massive landing pad. He expected a grand, overwhelming reception. He expected the Empress to be standing there in all her manic glory, ready to trap him in her psychological web.

But Aurelia had not come to greet him personally.

Instead, a squad of heavily armed elite guards in gleaming golden armor stood in a perfect, intimidating line.

Standing at the front of the formation was a tall man wearing the ornate cape of an Elite Commander. He had a scarred face and an incredibly arrogant sneer resting on his lips.

"Welcome to the Crown Domain," the Elite Commander said, his voice dripping with condescension.

He didn’t kneel. He didn’t offer a proper salute. He merely offered a mocking, shallow bow toward Zen. "Zenith Arclight, I presume? Or should I say, ’Your Majesty’? The rumors of the Emperor’s grand return have certainly caused quite a stir in the palace."

Valeria’s red eyes flared with instant, murderous rage. "You will address him on your knees, you armored insect! I will rip your tongue out!"

"Stand down, Val," Zen ordered smoothly, not taking his eyes off the Commander. "Where is Aurelia?"

"The Empress is waiting for you in the grand throne room," the Commander replied, crossing his heavy golden gauntlets over his chest. "She is eager to see if the rumors of your resurrection are true, or if you are just a clever imposter playing a dangerous game."

"Then take us to her," Nyx demanded, her purple digital eyes locking onto the man’s vital points.

"I will escort the Emperor," the Commander said with a cold smile. "However, the Empress ordered the Emperor to enter alone."

The Commander suddenly drew his golden broadsword, pointing the heavy blade directly at Maya’s chest. "The stray dog stays outside. Guards! Seize the girl and throw her in the holding cells until we confirm the boy’s identity."

Four massive guards immediately stepped out of formation, drawing their weapons and marching aggressively toward Maya.

Maya let out a terrified gasp, stumbling backward until her back hit the metal hull of the helicarrier.

Zen did not negotiate... he didn’t even ask them to stop.

He simply released a concentrated, violent wave of pure, heavy mana.

It wasn’t just magic; it was the crushing weight of a ruler who had conquered the entire world five hundred years ago. The air on the landing pad instantly solidified, vibrating with terrifying kinetic force.

CRACK.

The marble pavement beneath the Elite Commander’s boots instantly shattered.

The Commander choked, his arrogant sneer vanishing as all the oxygen was forcefully ripped from his lungs. The invisible gravity of Zen’s aura slammed into his shoulders like a falling building.

"Gah!" the Commander gasped, his knees buckling completely.

He collapsed onto the cracked marble, his golden broadsword clattering uselessly away from his grip. The four advancing guards suffered the exact same fate, hitting the ground so hard their golden armor dented under the pressure.

They were completely paralyzed, pinned to the floor in a humiliating display of public dominance.

Zen slowly walked forward, his boots clicking loudly against the silent, terrified landing pad. He stopped right in front of the kneeling Commander and looked down at him with utter disgust.

"Listen to me very carefully," Zen stated, his voice devoid of any warmth. "Maya is my protégé. She is under my direct protection. No one touches her."

The Commander wheezed, unable to lift his head under the suffocating mana pressure. "The... The Empress... ordered..."

"I don’t care what Aurelia ordered," Zen interrupted coldly. He gestured casually over his shoulder to where Nyx and Valeria were standing, both wearing proud, obsessive smirks. "And these two Goddesses are with me. We are a package deal. We all go inside, or we leave right now and your Empress gets absolutely nothing."

"Understood!" the Commander choked out, blood dripping from his nose. "Please! We will escort all of you!"

"Good," Zen said, instantly snapping his mana aura shut.

The crushing weight vanished. The guards gasped for air, coughing violently as they struggled to their feet.

"Lead the way," Zen ordered.