---
The midday sun filtered softly through the arched windows of the grand dining hall, warming the long polished table that gleamed beneath silver plates and ornate dishes. The air was thick with the savory scent of roasted meat and honey-glazed fruits, but the tension at the table made every bite feel heavier.
Asher sat at the head, casually tearing into a chunk of seasoned bread, his gaze flicking between the three women seated around him: Princess Lily, seated to his right with a glint of mischief in her eyes; Queen Flora, ever-poised with her chin high but lips tight; and Selena, silently chewing beside him, her gaze averted.
Conversation had been light—until Selena softly broke the silence.
"Cassandra said she'll be returning to her territory." she said, placing her goblet down. "She believes the Queen and Princess are safe here now."
Asher raised a brow. "She didn't even tell me that herself?"
Selena looked at him, a small shrug. "She said you wouldn't argue once you heard it."
Princess Lily's spoon clinked against her bowl. She hadn't touched her food. Her shoulders were stiff, and the moment Asher noticed, his voice grew softer.
"Something bothering you, Princess?"
Lily's lashes fluttered as she looked down, hesitating. Then, with a sudden breath, she spoke, "My brother… Prince Marvin. He's returned."
Silence fell across the table like a dropped curtain.
"I don't know where I'll live anymore," she continued. "The palace… it's no longer a home. After what he did to my father..."
Her voice cracked.
"That monster had Father murdered," she whispered. "He wanted the throne so badly, he didn't care that he had to spill his own blood to get it. I saw the way he smirked at the funeral, the way he played innocent while Father's body was barely cold."
Queen Flora reached to place a hand over hers, but Lily pulled away slightly, trembling.
"He took everything from me. My safety. My future. My family," she choked. "And now he returns like nothing happened... as if he's entitled to rule."
A silence, filled with discomfort, fell once more. Then the Queen spoke.
"Don't worry, Lily," Flora said with a calm, regal air. "As long as we're here, you're safe."
Asher leaned back in his chair and grinned faintly. "Strange. Wasn't it you, Your Majesty, who once said, 'I'd rather die than stay in your filthy mansion, Asher'?"
The Queen's face twitched with a mixture of irritation and embarrassment.
Lily let out a weak laugh despite her heavy heart. "Well, things change."
She turned to Asher, her eyes hopeful now. "Asher… may I live here? Just for a while?"
Asher didn't respond immediately. He sipped his drink, studying her.
"How long?" he asked.
That question made Lily pause. She looked at her hands, unsure how to answer. "I… I don't know…"
"Besides," Asher added, tilting his head slightly, "what if your precious brother misses you and summons you back to the royal castle? Will you defy him?"
"Of course she would," the Queen said firmly.
Lily smiled suddenly. The tension melted from her face and was replaced by a spark of mischief.
"I have it!" she exclaimed. "What if I married Asher? That way I could live in his territory openly, and Marvin couldn't do a thing about it!"
The room went still.
Selena nearly dropped her fork. "That's a terrible idea!" she snapped, her tone sharp. "You can't just marry Asher when you've barely known him!"
"A few days is enough," Lily said with a grin. "Isn't that how royal marriages work anyway? Strategy over affection?"
She turned, resting her chin on her palm as she gazed at Asher with intent. "What do you say, Lord Asher?"
All eyes turned to him. Even the Queen looked curious now.
Asher blinked. "…I think," he said after a long pause, "we don't need to get married to solve this. We just need to lie to him. Tell Marvin we're already married."
The Queen exhaled in visible relief. "Finally, something reasonable. I was afraid you would stupidly agree."
Selena also seemed to relax, letting out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
Lily, however, pouted. "A fake marriage? That ruins the fun. I was hoping for a royal ceremony, you. Me. Our honeymoon…"
"You'll survive, a fake marriage is enough of an excuse." Asher said dryly, already returning to his meal.
Then the Queen's expression darkened. "The prince has sent word. He's announced a public gathering. All noble families are to be present."
"Are you going?" Lily asked.
Flora shook her head. "No. I have no interest in bowing to a throne built on betrayal."
Lily frowned. "Then I won't go either. Why should I stand before a killer and pretend he's king?"
She turned to Asher again and leaned closer. "But if Asher were to attend… he could help spread the news of our marriage," she said with a wink, slowly sliding onto his lap without asking.
Her voice turned soft. "That way, everyone would know I belong to you…"
Asher's entire body tensed. Queen Flora narrowed her eyes in disapproval. Selena stared, frozen with wide eyes.
"I…" Asher cleared his throat. "I need to take a walk."
Before anyone could react, he gently but firmly lifted Lily from his lap, stood, and left his plate half-finished as he made a swift exit from the dining hall.
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
The Queen pinched the bridge of her nose. "How can you just throw yourself at a man like that? Have some dignity."
"What's the problem?" Lily said, twirling a grape between her fingers. "Don't tell me you're jealous."
Flora scoffed. "Jealous? You flatter yourself. I have no interest in competing with you for a man I don't even like."
"Well, then I guess I'm safe," Lily said with a grin, then turned her sharp gaze toward Selena. "What about you, Selena? Do you think what I'm doing is wrong?"
Selena glanced down. "I… I don't know."
"Oh, come on," Lily pressed. "You and Asher have a history. Don't tell me you've never had feelings for him."
Selena's cheeks flushed. "I don't have feelings for Asher. We... We have known each other for long but I don't think I see him that way."
Lily raised an eyebrow.
"So, you're fine if I have him, right?"
Selena hesitated, her eyes darting to the now-empty seat at the head of the table.
"…Yeah. Sure," she replied, her voice soft, unsure.
---
Meanwhile, outside…
Asher walked the quiet paths of his estate, the evening breeze tugging gently at his coat. His mind was swirling.
Marriage? Fake or not?
Prince Marvin's return?
The Order of Existence?
He stopped near the fountain in the courtyard, watching the water ripple under the dying sun.
"What the hell is happening around me…" he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
His mansion was turning into a battleground of secrets, feelings, and power plays.
And soon… it was only going to get worse.
The shadows of dusk crept across the land as Asher ventured far from his estate, deep into the Forest of Abyss—a forbidden place pulsing with raw, chaotic energy. The air was thick with tension, the kind that twisted time and crushed sound. Leaves didn't rustle. Birds didn't sing. Only the dull hum of power echoed through the roots of the earth.
Asher stood at the heart of the forest, where the energy was at its strongest.
He raised his hand slowly—and the ground collapsed beneath his will.
A pulse of gravity surged outward, crushing the weight of space around him. Any beast that dared approach was instantly flattened to dust or thrown into the void of crushing pressure. This was his sanctuary now.
He sat at the center of a blackened crater and made a magic circle, his eyes glowing faintly with violet energy. With a deep breath, he closed them—and entered the realm within.
---
Inside his mind...
He opened his eyes to a dark throne room, twisted and vast. Black flames danced on pillars of bone. In the middle sat his inner demon—a monstrous version of himself, cloaked in shadows with a permanent sneer etched into his face. Its eyes glowed a sinister red, and its voice was deep, ancient, and mocking.
"So… the great Asher seeks help?" the demon said with a grin. "Finally decided to stop pretending you could win without me?"
"I'm not here for your insults," Asher said, walking closer. "You've consumed dozens—no, hundreds. Their memories… their techniques… you have them all."
The demon chuckled, rising to its feet. "And you want me to teach you their moves? The ones of those I've consumed… like Cassandra, Korrin, Tony?"
"Exactly," Asher growled. "I need to become better. Stronger. Not for pride. For Protection."
The demon's grin widened until it split unnaturally across its face. "Very well."
Without warning, it shifted.
The form twisted and shrunk until standing before Asher was Cassandra, her silver armor glinting and long blade in her hand. Her stance was flawless. Familiar.
She lunged.
Asher barely blocked her first strike, the speed catching him off guard.
"She always held back around you," the demon said, speaking with Cassandra's voice as the copy attacked. "But now… she won't."
Strike. Parry. Counter.
Blades danced around him, slicing through illusions of dust, floor, air. Each blow forced him to rely more and more on instinct, forcing him to move like water, flow like wind.
But just as he started adapting—
Cassandra's body twisted again.
Now Korrin stood there, cracking his knuckles. His knuckles gleamed with enchanted steel, and the air shimmered with danger.
"You always feared this one," the demon taunted. "Your reflection. Your mirror. The version of you without restraint."
Korrin dashed forward, and gravity around Asher warped violently. The battlefield bent and twisted under Korrin's touch.
Asher fought back, using his own gravity mastery to push back, but the knew his limits—and because it didn't fully absorb Korrin, it could not fully replicate the fighting style but it combined the skills of other being it has consumed to compensate for what it lack.
Blow after blow rained down, and Asher collapsed to one knee, blood dripping from his mouth inside the realm of his mind.
"I'm not done," Asher growled.
"Good," the demon said, shifting once more.
Now Tony stood there—shadow-infused and wild, his power erratic but devastating.
"Tony's style was raw chaos," the demon said. "He never planned… he reacted."
The battle grew messier, more unpredictable. Asher was tossed, burned, struck with shadow strikes and bone-cracking jabs.
Still, he rose.
Again.
And again.
"YOU DON'T SEEN TO EVER GIVE UP, I LIKE IT. BUT I WONDER WHY?" the demon roared, its voice now echoing from all three forms at once—Cassandra, Korrin, Tony—now fused into a three-faced demon before him.
Asher's body sparked with violet energy.
"Because unlike you," he snarled, "I don't fight to kill… I fight to protect."
His fist clenched. The gravity around him condensed, pulling every molecule inward.
Then—
BOOM.
He released a controlled explosion of gravity, blasting all the figures away, bending even the rules of his mental realm.
The realm cracked.
The demon flickered.
Then it smiled. Genuinely.
"YOU'RE STRONGER THAN YOU GIVE YOUR SELF CREDIT FOR." it whispered. "BUT AM CURIOUS... WHO DO YOU TRULY LIKE AMONG THOSE THREE NOBLE WOMEN."
Asher didn't respond. He turned away, eyes hard.
" I don't know what you are talking about."
---
Back in the real world…
Asher opened his eyes.
The forest around him was silent. Even the monsters had vanished. The gravity had returned to normal.
He stood slowly, wiping a trickle of blood from his nose.
Three new fighting styles now danced in his memory—Cassandra's and precision, Korrin's calculated speed brutality, Tony's chaotic rhythm.
"I'll master them all," he whispered.
He stepped forward, the shadows parting for him as he left the Forest of Abyss.
---