Journey to the West: Banging Hot MILFs, SILFs, Monsters & Elves
Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Chapter 26

System Evolution Complete

Rank: Gold Tier

Title Unlocked: [Crownless Sovereign]

Authority Level: 4

Trait Unlocked: "King’s Command" – You may compel one target per day to obey a single verbal order, regardless of willpower (Cooldown: 24h).

Zephyr stood at the center of the awakening platform, golden lines pulsing through his veins. His breath was shallow, mind spinning with new power, new hunger. This wasn’t just an upgrade.

It was ascension.

From the shadows, Zahra emerged with a predatory smile. "You don’t look human anymore."

"I’m not," he murmured.

Lightning crackled beneath his skin. His aura spread out like wildfire—consuming silence, choking air.

Suddenly, the palace trembled.

Elsewhere – Queen Serephina’s Secret Hall

The Fire Queen knelt before a hidden altar deep beneath her chambers. Her hands trembled as she summoned the Bloodbound Seal—a forbidden curse that hadn’t been cast in three centuries.

Only one name was written on the parchment: Zephyr Thorn.

She hesitated.

Her lips quivered. "Forgive me..."

Then she pressed her palm to the blood circle.

The curse screamed to life—and somewhere, Zephyr’s heart lurched.

Queen Lirien wandered through the moonlit gardens, lost in memory. Her fingertips brushed the icy petals of the Death Lily. Her face was soft, broken.

She had betrayed Kaelen.

And now she was betraying his son—with feelings she couldn’t silence.

Then a voice behind her froze her blood.

"You don’t deserve him."

It was Serephina, red eyes burning.

"I know," Lirien whispered.

Serephina drew closer. "But neither do I. And yet... I’ll be damned before I let him destroy us all."

Lirien turned sharply. "What did you do?"

The Fire Queen said nothing.

Instead, a dark smile bloomed across her face as the ground shook violently beneath them.

System Warning!

Lethal Curse Detected

Source: Royal Blood Magic

Recommendation: Activate "King’s Command" or suffer 72% damage over 6 hours.

Zephyr clenched his jaw. His chest burned. His vision blurred.

"System," he gasped. "Who did it?"

Blood Signature Match: Queen Serephina Velka.

His fingers twitched.

She had kissed him. She had wept in his arms.

And now... she had cursed him.

Zahra moved forward, eyes wide. "Let me kill her."

"No," Zephyr said.

"She’s betrayed you!"

"They all will. Eventually."

He looked into the throne’s mirrored platform—and saw his face flickering into something monstrous.

Something... divine.

Then he activated King’s Command.

Command Target: Queen Serephina

Command: "Come to me. Alone. Unarmed."

Cooldown: 24h initiated.

He didn’t want her dead.

Not yet.

He wanted to know why.

Serephina’s eyes glazed over suddenly. Her legs began to move.

She dropped her sword. Her body fought the compulsion—but the system pulled harder.

Lirien reached out. "Serephina—what are you doing?"

Tears ran down the Fire Queen’s cheeks. "He’s calling me."

And then, from the shadows, a third voice whispered:

"Let her go. We’ll strike when she’s inside. Let the boy think he’s won."

Lirien turned in horror to see Queen Naeva—thought dead, once the Pale Empress—stepping from the gloom.

She held a dagger soaked in spellfire and shadow.

And behind her... stood three masked traitors.

One of them... was Zahra’s twin.

System Alert: Soul Manipulation Detected

Rogue Presence Confirmed: "Unknown Entity – Masked Wraith #3"

System Advisory: Emotional volatility exceeding critical threshold.

Trigger: "Primal Awakening" – In Progress.

Serephina’s bare feet echoed along the ancient marble. Her crimson robe trailed behind her like blood from a fresh wound. Her mind screamed to resist the command, but Zephyr’s voice whispered in every heartbeat.

"Come to me. Alone. Unarmed."

The system’s power dragged her like a chain on her soul.

But she wasn’t as alone as she thought.

In the shadows behind her, Naeva’s blade shimmered with cursed black flame. Her traitors followed in silence—silent, poised for murder.

Zephyr stood tall in the center of the throne chamber, the runes beneath his feet glowing brighter than ever. His heartbeat thundered—each beat pulsed with power, but also... with betrayal.

Zahra stood by the wall, masked and unreadable, hand on her sword. She could feel it too.

Something was wrong.

"She’s taking too long," Zahra muttered.

"She’s being followed," Zephyr replied coldly.

He turned to the System Mirror. "Show me."

System Display: Active Surveillance – South Passage.

Rendering Image...

The mirror shimmered—and showed Serephina. Behind her, Naeva. And behind her—a masked woman bearing Zahra’s face, smirking.

Zahra stepped forward. "That’s—impossible. I killed my twin."

Zephyr’s voice dropped. "Then she came back. As a Wraith."

Flashback: Zahra’s Twin – Lilith

She had been dead for two years.

Lilith, Zahra’s twin, once the Black Blade of the Southern Isles, had been consumed by cursed magic. Betrayed. Lost in the chasm of void-sorcery.

Now she walked again.

Her voice carried a twisted echo as she whispered beside Naeva: "When he sees me, he’ll hesitate. You kill him. I’ll take the core."

Present

The throne room doors creaked open.

Serephina walked in first, her eyes dazed—but tear-streaked.

Zephyr stood. "You came."

Behind her, Naeva stepped in, smiling wickedly.

Zahra reached for her sword.

Lilith stepped in last.

And Zephyr’s world stopped.

"...Lilith?" he whispered.

Her smile was cruel. "Didn’t expect to see a ghost, did you?"

"System," Zephyr snapped. "Seal the chamber."

System Response: Too Late.

External override initiated.

Shield integrity: 44%... 29%... 11%... Critical Breach.

The walls rippled. The symbols shattered. And then—

Everything exploded.

Naeva lunged with her cursed dagger.

Zahra leapt across the room with a savage cry, her blade aimed at Lilith.

Serephina screamed—not in fear—but rage. "He’s mine to kill!"

Blades clashed. Magic roared. The throne room descended into chaos.

But Zephyr stood frozen.

Blood dripped from his side—Naeva’s blade had struck, shallow but real.

He fell to one knee.

System Alert: Primal Awakening—98%.

Threshold Approaching.

Initiating Core Awakening Sequence...

Lilith’s hand reached for Zephyr’s chest.

"I’ll take what’s inside you, brother," she said darkly. "Your system. Your soul."

But then—the air went still.

Zephyr looked up.

His eyes had turned pitch black.

The power that erupted from his body shattered the floor beneath him, throwing Lilith and Naeva backward.

He rose, not with grace, but with divine fury.

System Notification(Ding)

"Crownless Sovereign Form – Stage One: Awakened."

His voice was no longer human.

"You want my crown?" he growled. "Then bleed for it."

And from the cracks in the earth beneath his feet, wings of obsidian fire unfolded behind him.

As Naeva screamed and Zahra cried his name—

Zephyr took one step forward.

And the entire palace began to collapse.