Crownless Reincarnation: New World? Nah I'd win

Akamir let out a sigh as he looked at her. "Sephrina."

"Yes, husband?"

He ignored her teasing. "I have a cure for your curse."

Sephrina blinked, the teasing smile slipping from her lips.

Her eyes widened slightly, the weight of his words breaking through her playful tone.

"…A cure?" she repeated, almost in disbelief.

Akamir nodded, his masked face steady, though his voice carried a rare softness.

"Yes. A flower that can burn through any curse, root and all. It's real and I've seen it with my own eyes."

For a moment, silence filled the room, broken only by the faint rustle of the curtains as sunlight strained against them.

None spoke anything as they just remained quiet.

Sephrina sat upright fully now, her net-like garment sliding across her shoulders, but she didn't care.

Her hands trembled slightly in her lap.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" she whispered. "Don't… don't give me hope just to snatch it away."

Saia fluttered off Akamir's shoulder, landing lightly on the bed between them.

Her tiny golden wings glimmered as she spoke gently.

"He doesn't lie about this. The flower is mine, and I gave it to him. If he says he can free you, then he can."

Sephrina's breath caught in her chest, her composure cracked.

The proud mask of an empress slipping into something far more human.

Her fingers clenched tightly in the sheets.

"…Why?" she asked finally, her voice hoarse. "Why would you go that far for me?"

Akamir turned his head slightly, regarding her with closed eyes.

"Because you are my wife," he said simply.

"And I don't like my possessions broken."

Sephrina gave a shaky laugh, though her eyes glistened faintly. "Always so cold, and yet you say things like that."

He ignored the tremor in her voice, lifting his hand.

The faint shimmer of his crown stirred, mana weaving through his fingers.

"I am giving it to you for my own benefit." He said, squeezing her hand. "An unfit ruler isn't something that I like."

Her lips parted, the weight of his words settling over her. No more hiding, no more barriers.

She nodded slowly, her voice quiet but firm. "…Then I'll stand beside you. As a true empress."

Akamir cleared his throat, looking away. "That's not what I meant—."

"Do I need to do nightly duties?" She asked, her smile returning. "Or are you going to wait till my body is completely changed."

"..."

Akamir didn't reply as he stood up from the bed.

The stir of mana in his hand finally calmed down as he summoned the flower.

Akamir slowly passed the golden flower into her hand.

"Absorb it like you do with mana." He instructed her softly. "It may take a whole day so I will guard you till then."

She didn't reply as she stared at the flower that floated on his hand.

Sephrina's breath caught as the golden petals hovered inches from her fingers.

Slowly, almost reverently, she curled her slender fingers around the stem.

The warmth spread instantly, seeping into her skin, racing through her veins like liquid sunlight.

A soft gasp escaped her lips as her body shivered.

Akamir's masked gaze stayed fixed on her, his voice calm but commanding.

"Steady your breath. Don't resist it—guide it. Draw it into your core."

She closed her eyes, following his words.

The flower dissolved into pure light, threads of golden energy wrapping around her like silken chains before sinking into her body.

Akamir looked at her for a while before he walked out of the room.

He closed the gate behind him as he stood guard.

Lili and Saia came out with him, both of them sitting on each of his shoulders.

"Will she be okay?" Lili asked, glancing at Akamir.

Akamir nodded as he replied. "She will be fine."

Lili sat cross-legged on Akamir's shoulder, her tiny hands propping her chin as she watched the glow.

"She's strong. The curse won't let go easily, but…" she smiled faintly, consoling herself, "Sephrina has endured worse. She'll survive this."

Saia, perched on his other shoulder, remained silent.

Akamir placed a mimicker in his place as he began to walk through the place.

Lili was quickly going to criticise his behaviour but she stopped when Saia gestured.

Akamir moved around the place as he glanced at Lili. "Do you know where the antique pieces are?"

Lili blinked as she asked. "Why do you want to know that?"

"Just tell me." He replied as he was interested in looking for something.

Lili fluttered up from his shoulder, her tiny brows furrowed.

"There's a vault under the eastern wing. Old relics, artifacts….things even the elves don't remember the use of. Why?"

Akamir's pace never slowed as he moved through the quiet marble halls, the sound of his boots muffled against the polished floor.

"I want to see if they've been hiding something connected to Sephrina."

Saia tilted her head from his other shoulder, her golden wings glimmering faintly.

"You think the elves would leave their secrets lying around for you to pick at?"

"They already did when they let me burn their World Tree," Akamir replied flatly. "Caution isn't their strong suit."

They passed a pair of elven guards silently.

'…Guards here are also incompetent.'

Akamir thought as he reached the place without getting detected even once.

At the end of the corridor stood a pair of towering doors carved from obsidian wood.

Inlaid with silver threads forming the shape of roots spiraling downward.

He placed his hand on the door as he pushed open the door.

'…It's tight, huh?'

Akamir thought as he walked inside, glancing back at the door.

He could easily move tons of weight but the door made him use a lot of strength.

Akamir's anticipation built up as he looked at the place he was in.

The hallroom was filled with hundreds if not more items that were laying on display.

There were artifacts, paintings as well.

Akamir walked towards one of the paintings of the Ieril of Dawn.

The first Elven to descend in this world.

Akamir stopped in front of the painting, his gaze narrowing.

The painting also had a man in it…he stood just behind her silently.

Akamir pointed at the man. "He looks like Velyrian, doesn't he?"

Lili, who was roaming around, quickly returned and nodded. "Yeah." She said. "…Even Sephrina said it."

Akamir frowned in confusion. "Why the hell is his portrait in millennia-old painting."

"They might be a look-alike." Lili replied, nodding her head. "That's what we all thought."

Akamir didn't seem quite convinced with the answer.

Akamir stepped closer, his fingers brushing against the faded paint.

His eyes, though dulled by the passage of centuries, carried an intensity Akamir recognized instantly.

"…This isn't a coincidence," Akamir muttered, his voice low. "No painter adds someone this carefully without purpose."

Lili fluttered near his shoulder, hesitant. "But the archives never mention him, though we all believe he is her husband."

Akamir let out a sigh as he moved away from the painting.

He began to move towards the place where the books were stored.

Akamir picked one of them as he began to read the first chapter.

The book creaked as Akamir opened it, dust scattering into the stale vault air.

It spoke of Ieril descending from the "veil between realms," carrying light that rooted itself into the earth and became the first sprout of the World Tree.

But the text wasn't only about her.

Repeatedly, the book referred to "her shadow."

A nameless figure who "guided her hand, yet stayed unspoken."

A figure who "knew the tongue of gods," a man who whispered knowledge of binding, sealing, and curses.

Akamir slowly sat down as he began to read the book carefully.

---

Time passed and it was night now.

Akamir was still reading the books in the vault.

His eyes remained fixed on the book in his hand as more remained spread all around him.

Lili had gone to tell one of Sephrina's servants about her problem.

She hadn't come back and Akamir knew she was guarding Sephrina.

However, his whole focus was on the knowledge he got from the book.

"This doesn't make any sense."

Akamir mumbled, rubbing his temples in frustration.

The books told him things that shouldn't exist six thousand years ago.

'Why would there be flying carriers that long ago?'

He let out a sigh as he placed the books back on the shelf.

"Akamir." Saia suddenly said, making him stop. "She is done."

Akamir quickly felt a wave of mana crushing the place.

He began rushing towards Sephrina's room.

Once again soldiers couldn't notice him as he moved past them.

When he returned back to her room, golden light escaped from the gaps.

Akamir quickly opened the door and walked in.

His breath was caught in his throat as he saw her for the first time.

The empress of the elven kingdom….

…..Was now devoid of her curse that had been haunting her entire life.