The night fell perfectly still inside the Imperial Hanging Gardens, a suspended oasis filled with glowing, neon-blue cosmic flora.
Under the soft radiance of the exoplanet’s twin moons, Princess Aurora stood dressed in an elegant white silk gown.
Her heart hammered against her ribs the exact microsecond she caught the sound of calm, measured footsteps approaching her position.
Xavier stepped into the clearing, wearing his tailored, sharp black noble coat without his military plate armor.
His long silver hair drifted effortlessly in the cool evening draft, while his striking purple-and-gold heterochromia eyes radiated a profound cosmic depth.
The youth’s androgynous visage looked dangerously beautiful beneath the moonlight, leaving Princess Aurora temporarily breathless.
“Junior Commander Xavier pays his respects to Her Royal Highness, Princess Aurora,” Xavier delivered a flawless noble bow, his melodic voice carrying a distinct, poised undertone.
“Thank you for honoring my invitation, Xavier.
Please, look at me…
here, we stand as equals,” Aurora spoke softly, completely abandoning her notoriously cold demeanor.
A deep blush painted the princess’s cheeks as the distance between them closed to a mere few paces.
“Xavier, I summoned you tonight because I can no longer deny what is in my heart.
Ever since the military parade this afternoon, your silhouette has completely occupied my thoughts.
I…
I wish to know you closely.
In fact, I want you by my side always—not just as my father’s vanguard, but as my personal protector.” Aurora confessed her affection with absolute bravery, her eyes locking onto Xavier’s unique heterochromia gaze with profound hope.
Xavier maintained an immaculate, serene profile, yet the mature mind of the hidden Void Eater inside his chest sneered coldly.
The princess’s infatuation was the absolute skeleton key he had been searching for all this time.
“It is an unparalleled honor, Your Highness,” Xavier replied, a captivating, soft smile playing on his lips as he executed his deceptive part to absolute perfection.
“I am merely an ordinary warrior, but if Your Highness deems me worthy of your trust, I swear upon my life to safeguard your presence and this empire with everything that I am.” Hearing his words, Princess Aurora was overwhelmed with absolute bliss, entirely oblivious to the fact that Xavier’s vow was nothing more than a calculated political chess move.
By claiming the heart of the Emperor’s sole daughter, Xavier had just unlocked unrestricted clearance to every single restricted quarter within the imperial palace—including the heavily guarded Multiverse Dimensional Gate.
His trajectory to ultimately hunt down his true destiny in the Isekai world was falling seamlessly into place.
After departing from the Hanging Gardens, Xavier walked calmly toward his private training grounds to collect his thoughts.
However, the exact millisecond he stepped into the center of the training hall, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
The primeval instincts of the ‘Void Eater’ hidden within his soul detected that the cosmic energy lines running through the palace had descended into sudden, absolute chaos.
Something was deeply wrong inside the primary imperial quarters.
Without wasting a fraction of a second, Xavier pivoted.
His sharp black noble coat and long silver locks blurred as he moved like a flash of lightning back through the silent palace corridors.
Breaching the imperial dining hall via a concealed entrance, the scenery layout layout before him caused his sharp purple-and-gold heterochromia eyes to constrict.
The Royal Prince—Prince Valen—was collapsed on his knees on the marble floor, clawing at his throat with a visage distorted in absolute agony.
A thick, purplish-black fluid seeped from his lips, while his golden cosmic armor actively eroded beneath a highly corrosive, venomous toxin.
“Cough!
Ghk—uhk…” Valen choked on his own blood, his vision blurring as his physical frame withered, tumbling heavily onto the freezing floor.
Xavier rushed forward, dropping to his knees beside his former arena rival.
He immediately checked Valen’s fading pulse.
Armed with his mature mind and extensive cosmic archives, Xavier recognized that this toxin did not originate from this planet—it was a High-Grade Void Poison synthesized specifically to liquefy users of sacred cosmic energy.
Someone within the high nobility had conspired with deep-space entities to assassinate the direct bloodline heir of the 97th Slayer.
*Chime!* The transparent system window before his eyes snapped awake with violent, flashing crimson typography: *[System Alert: Inside Conspiracy Detected.
Prince Valen Has Been Inoculated With ‘Void Corrosion’ Venom.
Host Possession Options: Allow the Target to Perish OR Utilize Void Eater Authority to Devour the Poison.]* Xavier stared down at Valen’s increasingly deathly pale visage.
He was standing on a razor’s edge.
If he allowed Valen to die, a major political rival would be erased, yet the palace would fall into absolute anarchy.
If he chose to salvage Valen’s life using his hidden Void Eater authority, his black secret as a universe-destroying abomination risked exposure if witnessed.
Give your opinion.