The sky above the capital was quiet, silver clouds drifting like ghosts. Inside the palace, the celebratory atmosphere from the engagement was still lingering. Music had faded. Guests mingled and whispered. But Jin Shang stood apart from it all—his gaze distant.
Earlier, he had watched Han Lillian and Chris Walker promise their future to one another. He had stepped into their world again, two years after his disappearance, offering a silent blessing with golden eyes and silver hair like starlight. He had embraced Lillian, brushed away her tears, and gifted her something precious.
Now, a different conversation awaited.
Chris Walker approached Jin near the grand balcony that overlooked the glittering lake beyond the palace walls. The moonlight spilled onto the floor, painting them in soft, pale hues.
"Thank you, Jin," Chris said, his voice low and respectful. "For coming. It meant more to Lillian than she could express."
Jin nodded silently.
Chris leaned closer, curious. "But I can feel something in you. Something... heavy. You look like you're carrying a war on your shoulders. You're not just here to congratulate us, are you?"
Jin sighed, then smiled faintly. "You've grown wiser."
Chris chuckled. "I had to. I'm marrying the girl you once gave your heart to, after all. And now you're my brother—my big bro. So speak freely."
Jin's eyes shimmered under the moonlight. "Lillian is... she's the successor to a Monarch."
Chris didn't flinch.
Jin's gaze narrowed. "You knew?"
Chris nodded slowly. "All celestial families know. It's a cursed truth we inherit."
He paused, then continued, voice hardening. "The truth is darker than you imagine. The origin of celestial families is built upon servitude to Monarchs. Bloodlines exist to be vessels. Each family has one purpose—protect their Monarch's descent. It's the reason we exist… not to worship them, but to make sure their power never returns unchecked."."
There was a long silence before Jin asked, "Then… why didn't anyone stop this? Why let it get this far?"
Chris's expression darkened. "Because we're divided. Some families want to awaken the Monarchs, hoping for power. Others, like mine… we're bound to resist them. To die before they return."
" So how do we defeat them?" Jin asked.
Chris turned serious. "Monarchs don't descend in their true forms. Their presence warps reality. They possess their successors, using them as vessels. When this happens, their powers are sealed by the fabric of lower realms. It's the only time they're killable. But even sealed, they possess enough power to destroy one Central World."
Jin clenched his fists. "There must be a way."
Chris pulled out a small artifact—a cube shimmering with shifting glyphs. "This is what my family protected for generations. The Rubik's Seal. It contains our last legacy, My father gave it to me with his dying breath," he said. "It's not a weapon—it won't kill a Monarch. But it's something more important. It resists them. When their powers try to consume you, this will shield your mind, your soul."
Jin took the cube gently, feeling a weight within it that wasn't physical. "Why give it to me?"
Chris smiled faintly. "Because you'll need it more than I ever will. Just break it and absorbed his power."
Jin closed his hand over it. The cube glowed, cracked, then shattered into threads of light that fused into his body.
Chris exhaled. "That's what we're up against."
Jin stared at his hand, where the cube's fragments had disappeared. "...Thank you."
Chris placed a hand on Jin's shoulder. "You won't fight alone."
Suddenly, Jin's expression changed. His senses stretched outward.
"Lillian..."
"She's gone," Jin whispered. "I can't sense her—something's wrong."
Chris's smile faded. "Let's go."
He vanished in a blink.
Chris followed quickly. After much difficulty, she was finally found. But what was found was a terrible state of terror and fear.
The old cathedral at the outskirts of the palace grounds loomed like a corpse under the stars. The stained glass was shattered, the pillars cracked by time, but inside, a pulse of dark energy beat like a heartbeat.
Lillian.
Bound to an obsidian altar, wrapped in chains made of something neither of them had ever seen. Chains that pulsed with a wrongness. Something… not from Earth
Her eyes fluttered open. "Jin… Chris…"
Park Hae-in and Mr. Singh stepped out from the shadows, cloaked in corruption.
Jin's fists clenched. "You…?"
Hae In smiled coldly. "It's nothing personal, Jin Shang."
"You're trying to awaken her," Jin said, voice low. "Using that material. That's not earthly metal. Where did you—?"
"Enough questions," Singh growled. "You should have stayed gone."
Chris stepped beside Jin, voice low. "I never liked you, Singh. But betrayal? This low?"
"Betrayal?" Singh sneered. "You think we're betraying humanity? No… we're saving it."
"You've lost your minds," Jin said.
"No," Hae In snapped. "We've just remembered who holds the real power in this world. We were never your allies. We serve something greater. Jin Shang must die."
Jin's golden eyes burned. "Then come."
Without another word, both sides launched forward.
The cathedral shook as four powers collided. Jin danced through a storm of dark matter blades from Hae In, his silver hair flashing as he weaved between strikes. Chris conjured blazing runes of flame, clashing against Singh's void shields.
"You don't get it, do you?" Singh shouted, hurling an orb of annihilation.
Jin spun and sliced through it with a radiant arc of light, eyes glowing. "I don't care what justification you have. You don't touch her."
Chris smashed a hammer of radiant force into Hae In's barrier, cracking it with sheer will. "You want to awaken the Monarchs? You'll have to go through me first."
Each move was lethal. Each clash sent shockwaves through the ruins. Jin's robes billowed in the energy, eyes burning with raw focus.
Then, with one powerful burst, Chris sent Hae In crashing into a pillar while Jin pinned Singh to the ground, light blades hovering inches from his throat.
"It's over," Jin growled.
But it wasn't.
Singh's hand darted forward with desperate speed, a dagger of black energy aiming straight for Jin's heart.
"No!" Chris screamed—and threw himself in the way.
The blade pierced his chest.
"Chris!!"
Jin caught him as he fell, eyes wide, hands trembling.
Chris's head rested against Jin's shoulder, his breaths short and ragged.
"Why…?" Jin whispered, his voice cracking. "Why did you—?"
Chris gave a soft smile, blood staining his teeth. "Because you… would've done the same for me, brother."
Jin's hands trembled as he held Chris tighter. "Don't speak. We'll heal you—we'll get help—"
Jin tried to heal him but his power failed to heal him.
But Chris shook his head weakly. "No time… you have to protect her. Don't… let them win."
Chris's vision faded as he looked toward the altar, toward Lillian, still bound, still glowing. "Tell her… she was always my light… even if she couldn't see it."
Jin bit his lip, a tear running down his cheek. "She'll know. I'll tell her. I promise."
Chris gave a final, broken smile. "Then… it was worth it."
His hand fell limp.
His body went still.
And the air around them grew painfully quiet.
"CHRIS!!"
Jin's cry shattered the silence like thunder. The cathedral pulsed as if mourning with him. He held Chris's lifeless body close, forehead pressed against his fallen brother's.
"Why…" he whispered, "does everyone I care about have to die…?"
But before the grief could consume him—
A scream ripped through the air.
Chains cracked.
And Lillian, eyes wide in horror as she saw Chris's unmoving body, unleashed a wave of energy so potent it split the altar in two.
"CHRIS!!"
Her sorrow became fury.
"LILLIAN!" he shouted—but it was too late.
The sky above the cathedral split open.
And the Monarch's Heir awoke.