Shadow Over the Heavenly Throne

Lumea looked up from Lilianne's lap and clapped her hands with delight.

"Auntie Lilianne! I want to play!"

The fox spirit gave her a fond, slightly amused look, then nodded.

"Alright. Show me what you've come up with today, little disaster," she said with a quiet sigh and a resigned smile full of affection.

She gently slid Lumea off her lap and stood up, reaching out for the child's hand. But the little dragoness smirked mischievously and grabbed one of Lilianne's tails instead. The fox winced slightly but didn't object, walking with her toward the larger clearing.

"We'll play the usual game. You run, I'll look for you with my eyes closed—but only three techniques, alright?"

Lumea nodded vigorously and darted off as fast as she could.

At the tea table, Garro, Miera, and Rahn sat frozen. Garro, who usually never shut up, now stared off to the side, gripping his cup so tightly the porcelain creaked. Miera, normally dominant and poised, avoided everyone's gaze, her fingers trembling slightly on the edge of the chair. Rahn, known for his biting remarks, sat with clenched lips, eyes fixed on the table as if any word might summon doom. The air buzzed with tension, in sharp contrast to the distant laughter echoing from the clearing.

A masked man watched them with a crooked smile.

"Why the sudden silence?"

Garro cleared his throat.

"Let's just say none of us want that little monster to notice us."

Only after Lumea's laughter faded beyond the trees and the air stopped pulsing with her presence did two battered men emerge. Their steps were heavy, faces worn, bodies marked with cracked skin. They collapsed onto the empty chairs with synchronized sighs.

Rahn glanced at Vaelin and Kaeroth, then let out a chuckle upon seeing Vaelin's bruised eye and bloodied lips.

"Didn't think it was possible, but you look even worse than usual," Rahn said with mock solemnity, eyeing him like a ruined statue someone had also run over with a cart.

Vaelin froze, his swollen eye twitching with rage. For a moment, it looked like he'd leap up and strangle Rahn, but he only clenched his fist, a vein pulsing on his temple. He exhaled slowly, suppressing the fury, and turned to the masked man with a mix of frustration and disbelief.

"I still can't believe where you found that monster."

The man merely smiled mysteriously and changed the subject.

"Tazir, Enlia, Vuro, and Draemen—they'll be done soon."

No one spoke. Garro gripped the chair's armrests like bracing for a storm. Miera looked up slowly from her teacup. Even Rahn leaned back slightly, as if the weight of the words had pressed on his shoulders. The silence was thick with unspoken anticipation.

"By the time they return, we should have enough Abyssal Energy—even if Lilianne and Miera didn't finish their part of the ritual," the man said quietly, as if it hardly mattered.

Vaelin perked up with excitement.

"Finally. Now we can start hunting cores. Let's see if those stuck-up cultivators are still brave when they meet us face-to-face in our new bodies."

The masked man shook his head.

"It's not time to attack yet."

Vaelin growled, grinding his teeth. Impatience flared in his eyes, muscles tensing like a predator held back from the kill. He opened his mouth to protest, but when the masked man remained silent and unmoved, he only snorted and looked away.

Rahn, noticing his reaction, leaned in with a smug smile. He picked up his cup, turned it between his fingers, then looked at masked man with a glint in his eye and spoke in a calm, almost pleased tone.

"I've created something new. A different kind of monster. I have to admit, I'm quite pleased with my little experiment."

Miera raised an eyebrow. Even Garro looked up, breaking his silence. Kaeroth winced, already sensing he wouldn't like it.

All eyes turned to Rahn.

"Hybrids."

Vaelin narrowed his eyes, suspicion thick in his voice.

"What kind of hybrids?"

Rahn's grin widened with excitement. He leaned back like a professor ready to lecture.

"I modified them further. Their bodies are now more... human—not in appearance, but in function. They can do much more than just fight. They now possess a high reproductive capability—almost identical to humans. And, more importantly, they can now mate with them."

The silence broke. Vaelin scowled like he'd just swallowed something rotten. He glared at Rahn, jaw trembling with restrained disgust. Kaeroth leaned back, distancing himself from the thought. Neither spoke, but their expressions said it all.

The masked man raised an eyebrow.

"And what of it?"

Rahn smiled.

"We could have hundreds of thousands within a few years."

The masked man's eye gleamed.

"What's the catch?"

Rahn licked his lips, then gestured lazily as if drawing a schematic in the air.

"Their biology is now close enough to humans for... more complex reproduction. If I prepare the cultivators properly, their bodies can endure the incubation. Not just once—repeatedly. The natural human cycle is too slow. But with my modifications and cellular stimulation, they can give birth nearly in series. A few weeks instead of nine months."

He grinned darkly.

"Just a few hundred women, and in a year we have a seed of an army. In three—tens of thousands. In five... the world will birth monsters faster than they can be killed."

Vaelin stared at him in horror.

"You want to force monsters to... mate with people?"

Rahn nodded with terrifying calm.

Miera squinted, intrigued.

"Is that even possible?"

"Naturally? No. But with genetic manipulation—nothing is impossible," Rahn replied.

The masked man remained silent for a long moment. His fingers tapped on the table in a rhythm that seemed random but carried a quiet intensity. Though hidden behind a mask, his gaze seemed distant—calculating implications.

Eventually, a slight nod broke the stillness.

"What are the limitations?"

"The higher the cultivator's level, the faster the growth. The more women, the better. With powerful cultivators, I could even create unique variants."

His finger tapped once more. His eye flashed ominously, as if Rahn's words awakened something deeper.

"Our plan was a coordinated surprise assault on all sects during the tournament to seize their cores. But for that, we need a monstrous army. Otherwise, even we won't survive when every sect focuses on us."

He exhaled, then raised his head to look at them. His voice hardened, each word an order:

"When Tazir, Enlia, Vuro, and Draemen return, we'll pay a visit to the Frozen Empress Sect."

Vaelin perked up, nearly forgetting his wounds. His eyes lit up, and he gestured in the air like celebrating a victory.

"Finally, a real fight," he muttered with satisfaction, rubbing his hands.

Rahn simply nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Miera turned to Rahn, her gaze heavy and disturbing. A sadistic smile curled at her lips.

"I want two cultivators for myself."

Rahn looked at her lazily and shrugged.

"Pick your favorites once they're captured."

Miera nodded, pleased like a child promised her favorite toy.

Suddenly, Lumea flew overhead, squealing with joy and dragging Liliane by the tails in the air.

"Slower!" shouted Lilianne, dragged along by her tails.

But the dragoness only laughed louder and sped up.

The masked man looked up at the sky, watching their silhouettes vanish beyond the trees. He said nothing. For a moment, it seemed he was still deep in thought, shaping the next step of a grand design. His movements were slow, deliberate, weighted by the future. Finally, he stood without a word.

"I need to plan our next steps. I'll be in touch."

The others exchanged glances and nodded. No one stopped him. He cast one final look at them and disappeared without a sound, like a shadow fading into the dark.

The moment he vanished, Vaelin hissed through clenched teeth, unable to hold back any longer.

"You're disgusting, Rahn. A madman. You actually want monsters to mate with humans?"

Kaeroth nodded silently, his eyes locked on the table.

Rahn only smiled, as if he had just received the highest praise.

"Someone with a brain as small as yours could never grasp the beauty of what I'm creating."

Garro let out a sharp laugh.

"Beauty, huh? If you ever need help with your 'beautifying,' you know where to find me."

Rahn nodded with exaggerated seriousness.

"If I ever do need aesthetic advice, you'll be the very first I ask."

Garro nodded smugly.

Meanwhile, Miera walked over to Vaelin and wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Don't let it get to you," she whispered, giving him a gentle squeeze. "Maybe you're just too caught up in it. Rahn isn't doing anything... that terrible. It's just using what biology allows."

She leaned closer, her lips brushing his ear.

"Humans have done worse for centuries. He's just ahead of his time. What you see as monstrosity, he sees as a solution to a numbers problem. Practicality over morality, Vaelin."

Vaelin scoffed, shooting her a sidelong glance.

"You're just excited about those two cultivators Rahn promised you."

She didn't respond. Her eyes gleamed, and the corner of her mouth curved into that familiar shadow of a smile—the same one she wore after a massacre, too pleased to justify herself. Her lips pulled into a slow, sadistic grin, as if Vaelin had hit the mark and amused her even more for it.

He shrugged off her arms and stood abruptly.

"Why the hell is everyone here a bunch of fucking lunatics?"

He turned and stormed off, leaving behind only Kaeroth's heavy sigh, the satisfied glint in Rahn's eyes, and Miera's hungry, almost predatory gaze as she watched him go like a predator savoring the prologue of her favorite hunt.