"Good. It pains me that she has no friends whatsoever in this world except me. Perhaps I should add more people to be her friends." Liam nodded to himself several times, thoughts moving quickly behind his gaze.

It was more than just a passing sentiment.

In a way, this was his version of kindness, an attempt to make Mize's existence a little more vivid, a little less hollow.

She was, after all, his wife now, bound to him not just by title but also soul contract.

And she stood at the peak of status in this world, the wife of the strongest lord, the one who walked on the Divine path.

A solitary figure like that deserved something more than cold silence and ceremonial reverence.

"And how long will it take to completely assimilate that world into my dimension?" he asked without shifting his posture.

"Roughly another month, my lord, before that world will completely fall." The mysterious butler answered smoothly, then spread both hands wide, moving in a slow, exaggerated gesture like a theatrical actor nearing the climax of a monologue.

“Once hope is stripped away from them, then the time is set for the Lord to consume them into becoming a part of us. A never-ending darkness... followers of the great ones... and the Lord shall rule the countless worlds as an absolute being!”

His tone cracked slightly with restrained fanaticism, a kind of hunger hidden behind the mask that covered his face.

Liam chuckled, low and amused.

His eyes flickered, a ripple of dark light flashing through them like a blink of the abyss itself.

Then calm returned, as if nothing had stirred.

He gave his thigh a casual pat, shoulders loosening as he leaned slightly back.

A smile curled onto his lips, one that didn't belong to him before, alien and devoid of warmth.

Something else, something that wasn't him.

"After that world falls, sacrifice every single soul there for me.“

The laughter that followed was soft, indulgent, more breath than sound.

But it stopped just as abruptly as it came.

A pulse touched his mind.

He paused, attention shifting inward as a message flowed through his mental connection.

The voice that echoed belonged to Elias.

“My lord, I have an important matter to discuss.”

Liam narrowed his gaze slightly. “What is it?”

“The Adventurer Guild… they wish to enter the cabinet of the Lord’s throne.”

“Ohhh?”

One brow arched, and a spark of amusement danced in his expression.

That request, coming from a native force, no less, was unexpected.

Bold, too. Liam’s lips tugged into a curious smirk, interest stirred.

--

A scene…

Or perhaps, the beginning of one. It wasn’t entirely clear.

It unfolded like a strange dream, or maybe the remnants of a broken thought, something shifting, changing, hard to grasp.

There was no ground, no sky, just a perspective without orientation.

And yet, from within the formless, something emerged.

A subtle brilliance formed in the void, delicate yet vivid.

A light bloomed, faint at first, then brighter, like the center of a flower slowly peeling open, petal by glowing petal.

It shimmered in hues not easily named.

Not just color, but feeling.

Faint reds. Pale violets. Glints of deep, refracted white.

The shape continued to unfurl until, at its heart, several tones bloomed into full radiance.

“What is this…?”

A voice came, crisp and light, filled with uncertainty. Feminine. Gentle.

Then, out of the blooming light, a hand stretched forward.

It reached out toward the flower, fingers trembling as if trying to grasp the unknown.

“Wha—t… am I?”

A fragile question, caught between breath and revelation.

Then, snap.

Like a film reel torn in mid-projection, everything cut to black.

Complete darkness swallowed the scene.

The light, the voice, the flower, it all vanished, replaced by a jarring emptiness.

A sharp gasp broke through the silence.

Breath heaved in sudden panic, shallow and quick.

Mize.

After months sealed in a deep and forced slumber, her body finally responded.

She jolted forward, pressing herself upright with trembling arms.

Her chest rose and fell erratically as she tried to calm her breathing, forehead damp with cold sweat.

Her head throbbed with disorientation, a dull ache pulsing behind her eyes.

“W—where…?”

Her voice was hoarse, dry.

Her throat scratched like it hadn't been used in ages. Instinctively, she swallowed, but even that brought a sting.

Her ruby-red eyes blinked several times as she tried to make sense of what surrounded her. Vision blurry, her gaze drifted across the shapes around her.

The surface beneath her shifted strangely under her palms, firm, yet soft.

Confused, she looked down.

What she saw was a bed carved entirely from pale green jade. Smooth. Cool to the touch.

Unlike anything one would expect from a resting place.

"I am not snow white, no?"

She turned her head slowly, eyes tracing the quiet edges of the chamber.

Everywhere she looked, treasures gleamed. There were piles, literal hills of them. Orbs pulsed with trapped energy.

Fragments of crystalline stones hummed faintly. Elixirs, glimmering and sealed, stacked in precious containers.

She paused. Inhale. Focus.

Her divine mind stretched outward in a passive scan. For some reason, she felt a heavy burden using this, but for now, she needed to understand where she was.

It only took a moment for understanding to click into place.

“Healing treasures…”

The whisper left her lips as realization settled.

She recognized them, not just their shapes or names, but their essence. Each one of these treasures possessed immense benefits for human body.

But for her?

These items and treasures were rather useless.

She shifted closer to the edge of the jade bed, moving with caution.

Her limbs still felt strange, like her body was remembering how to exist.

And then she stopped, just for a moment, taking in the chamber, its glow, and the weight in the air that pressed like a memory she hadn’t caught up to yet.

She raised her right arm slowly, held it aloft for a second, then let it drop back down with a soft thud against her side. “I feel incredibly weak… even though my mental energy is full?” she murmured, her brows drawing in subtle confusion.

Her body ached with resistance.

With effort, she pulled herself upright from the bed, limbs trembling slightly.

She leaned against one of the bed’s carved jade pillars, steadying herself as her legs tried to remember their strength.

Her bare feet touched the cold surface of the platform below, a smooth slab of stone so chilled that it felt like ice meeting flame.

The first contact made her flinch slightly, but the sensation dulled quickly as her skin adapted.

Even as she stood, a strange unease settled in her chest. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Her gaze swept around, trying to understand what kind of place this was.

With careful, almost sluggish steps, she moved forward, wobbling slightly as she left the bed behind.

It stood tall, regal and distant now that she had descended a small flight of steps that led from the platform to the lower floor.

When she glanced back, she realized just how high the bed had been positioned, elevated like a throne above the room.

Shaking her head slowly, she turned back and surveyed the area with more attention.

Her eyes moved from corner to corner, lips parting slightly in confusion.

“…Where is my husband?” she whispered under her breath, dragging one foot in front of the other as she limped further across the room, "And I thought the first thing I will see would be his face."

At the same time, she tried summoning her usual abilities, basic skills she could once activate with a flicker of thought.

But nothing happened. Each attempt fizzled into silence.

Her frown deepened.

And then came the voice she’d grown used to, the system’s tone crisp and calm.

[Host, please don’t be alarmed by the current situation. It is only natural that your body feels extremely weak at the moment. During the host’s extended slumber, the territory underwent an upgrade to Tier 7. The host’s body, unable to endure the strain, entered a state of temporary self-nullification. At present, each gesture will feel heavy, and movement will carry the sensation of lead within the limbs.]

[This system suggests that—]

“It’s okay…” Mize murmured before the system could finish.

She limped forward again, her eyes scanning the intricate floor below, a floor tiled with faint gold etchings, slightly warm to the touch, reflecting soft ambient light.

Her tone softened as she spoke half to herself.

“I’ll stay like this a little longer… if I’m lucky, Liam will feel bad seeing me in this state. Maybe I can earn a good amount of sympathy points for being unconscious this long…”

Even fresh from waking, her mind was already turning to the point system.

Typical Mize.

The thought made her lips curl slightly into a wry smile.

Then, with a purposeful shift in expression, she adjusted her features into one of frail helplessness.

Her posture slouched just enough to look pitiful, and her steps dragged slightly as she approached the main gate.

Is this the exit?

Well, she looked around the chamber, and seemingly clear enough, this was the only gate.

When she reached it, she pressed her palm lightly against the large surface and gave it a push.

The attempt was laughably weak, like tossing an eggshell at a boulder.

Nothing happened.

But then, with no effort on her part, the massive gate began to open on its own.

"Oh? Neat..."

Silent and smooth, it parted without even the sound of grinding hinges.

As the light from outside poured in through the widening gap, voices drifted through, carried on soft footsteps and muffled tones.

'Guards?' her thoughts drifted.

“Same as always, put the healing treasures on the newest pile.”

“Yeah, yeah… I just wonder how long we’ll be stuck waiting for her highness to finally wake up. The Lord’s been getting more and more unstable by the day…”

"Yeah, I attended the palace inspection before. The lord seems to be... different and yet the same. I can't tell what's wrong but my gut feeling is telling me, the lord is not himself, truly."

“Shut your damn mouth! Are you trying to get all of us killed?”

“Yeah, sorry, sorry…”

“Let’s finish and get out quick. I don’t want to linger here any longer than we need to.”

Their conversation rolled through the air casually, until the gate opened fully and their eyes locked onto the figure just inside.

“…Huh?”

“Wait—is that…”

“H-her highness!”

Three sentry guards stood at the threshold, each one frozen in place.

In their gloved hands were trays and boxes filled with glowing treasure, but the moment they saw her, everything stopped.

The treasures trembled mid-air as if suspended in time, and beneath their steel helmets, their jaws had clearly fallen open.

They stood still, not daring to step forward, not daring to speak another word.