In the cold, deathly silent "Crown of Nothingness," Lin Feng sat atop a throne forged from pure concepts. Before him were no longer those colorful "emotional memes," but three living, exquisitely beautiful women from another world, bound by an energy field.
They are the three most dazzling beauties of Demacia: Luxana, the Lightbringer; Fiora, the Grand Duelist; and Sona, the Maven of the Strings.
They were stripped of their armor and fine clothes, symbols of glory and status, and replaced with a semi-transparent, body-hugging silver silk garment specially made by the empire. This silk garment not only failed to cover their bodies but was also a symbol of humiliation, constantly and subtly absorbing the wearer's energy, leaving them in a state of constant weakness and powerlessness.
Lux's eyes were filled with fear and undried tears. Her long golden hair was disheveled and draped over her shoulders. Her once confident and vibrant blue eyes were now filled only with endless fear of the unknown. Fiona bit her lip tightly. Her usually proud and aristocratic face was filled with resentment and anger, but even more so with a sense of powerlessness after being completely stripped of her strength. As for Sona, her beautiful face was filled with only a deathly sorrow. She could not speak, but could only express her silent grief with her eloquent eyes. Beside her, the legendary ancient zither "Aihua" lay quietly, its strings broken, like a dead butterfly.
"Welcome to my 'garden,' ladies from Demacia." Lin Feng's voice, calm and majestic, echoed in the empty hall. He slowly descended from the throne, like a connoisseur admiring his latest collection.
His gaze first fell on Lux. He reached out and gently lifted Lux's chin with his cold fingers, forcing her to look at him.
“A soul brimming with light… yet shrouded in fear. What an intriguing paradox,” he murmured, as if talking to himself. “Within your body lies a very pure energy. If properly ‘guided,’ it might radiate a light more dazzling than the sun of Demacia.”
"You...you demon..." Lux's voice trembled with fear, "What did you do to my brother?! How is he?"
"Your brother?" Lin Feng's lips curled into a cold, detached smile, as if he were watching a farce. "Garen Crownguard. The soul of Demacia, a mortal filled with laughable 'glory' and 'justice.' He's still alive."
Upon hearing that her brother was still alive, a faint glimmer of hope flashed in Lux's eyes.
But Lin Feng's next words completely shattered her sliver of hope.
"Like millions of other Demacian men, he was sent to the mining planet Hera-7. Oh, I forgot to tell you, it's an extremely harsh planet. There, even the strongest Demacian warriors don't survive more than three months. They'll be worked to death or starve to death like livestock in intensive labor. Their corpses will become fuel in the furnaces."
"No...no...!" Lux's pupils contracted instantly. She couldn't imagine that her brother, who was as majestic as a sun god and never gave up, would end up in such a tragic state.
“But,” Lin Feng’s voice was filled with a devilish allure, “his life and death are now entirely in your hands.”
He slowly walked up behind Lux and, with a possessive gesture, pulled her petite body into his arms. His lips brushed against Lux's ear, and he whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“From this day forward, you, Laksana Crownguard, will become my consort. You will be here to learn how to please me and serve me. As long as you satisfy me, your brother will be able to live one more day on that hellish planet. He will even receive extra food and have his workload reduced by one hour.”
“But…” His voice suddenly turned icy cold, “If you resist in the slightest, if you do anything that displeases me… Garen will be executed immediately. I will have him thrown into the hottest lava, so that not even a speck of ashes will remain. And I will make you witness all of this through this water mirror.”
These words, like the most vicious curse, completely shattered Lux's last psychological defenses.
She wanted to resist; she wanted to use her light magic to burn the demon before her to ashes. But the energy within her was firmly suppressed by the silver silk robe, making it impossible to gather. More importantly, she dared not. She dared not gamble the life of her only, and most beloved, brother on that one in ten thousand chance.
Tears, silently, slid down her beautiful blue eyes. Her life, her faith, her future, at this moment, were utterly dragged into an endless abyss of darkness.
"Very good, it seems you've made a wise choice." Lin Feng smiled with satisfaction. He released Lux and turned to Fiona, whose eyes were like sharp swords.
“Fiora Laurent, the Grand Duelist.” Lin Feng’s gaze held a hint of scrutiny. “I heard from Gaia that you are the strongest duelist in Demacia. Your swordsmanship is said to have reached the pinnacle of mortal skill.”
Fiona didn't speak, but stared intently at Lin Feng with her proud and defiant eyes. Even as a prisoner, the pride of the Laurent family wouldn't allow her to lower her head.
“It’s a pity,” Lin Feng shook his head, as if lamenting a crack in a fine piece of porcelain, “Even the sharpest sword cannot sever the shackles of ‘fate.’ Your family, the Laurent family, has been removed from the Demacian nobility list because of your ‘stubbornness.’ Your father, all your relatives, are now on a transport ship bound for a mining planet, just like other ‘low-value individuals.’ I think I don’t need to describe their future further.”
Fiona's body trembled violently. Her pride, her sword, were all for protecting her family's honor. And now, everything she had protected had been utterly destroyed because of her.
"You too." Lin Feng's voice was devoid of any emotion. "Become my woman. Pleasing me, your once noble family might still have a trace of bloodline to continue. Otherwise, they would all have died out in an 'accident' on the very first day they arrived on the mining planet."
Fiona clenched her fists tightly, her sharp nails digging deep into her palms, drawing blood. Finally, her proud head bowed slowly in the face of cruel reality.
Finally, Lin Feng's gaze fell upon Sona, the silent, perfect nymph of lyre, like a work of art.
“An ineffable ‘collectible’ that possesses the power to resonate with the soul.” Lin Feng walked up to Sona and gently stroked her smooth, waterfall-like blue hair. “Your music is said to heal wounds and tear the soul apart. I long to hear it with my own ears.”
He paused, then added, "Oh, by the way. What was the name of the Demacian noblewoman who raised you? Eitvar? She's at the slave auction on Hera-7 right now. I think, with her well-maintained age and charm, she should fetch a good price. Perhaps, she'll be bought by some Imperial officer who has a taste for 'mature' women. What do you think?"
Sona's ethereal, star-like eyes instantly welled up with endless sorrow and fear. She abruptly raised her head and shook it desperately at Lin Feng. She wanted to beg for mercy, to say that she would do anything to save her only remaining family member. But her cursed throat could not utter a sound.
"It seems we've reached a consensus." Lin Feng smiled with satisfaction. With a gentle wave of his hand, the energy field binding the three Demacian beauties vanished instantly.
“Gaia,” he commanded, “take them down for the highest level of ‘purification’ and ‘training.’ I hope that by the end of the Noxian campaign, I will see three qualified ‘concubines’ who know how to serve their master.”
"Command received."
Several expressionless female officials from the Imperial Court, dressed in white uniforms, emerged from the shadows of the hall. They grabbed the arms of three Demacian women and dragged them like objects toward the unknown "training room," a place filled with terror and humiliation.
As Lux was being dragged away, she glanced back at Lin Feng. That glance was filled with despair and deep-seated hatred.
Lin Feng didn't care at all.
For him, it was just an interesting little "interlude".
His gaze returned to the enormous holographic star map. On it, the "Throne of Calamity" had reached the borders of Noxus. That black continent, steeped in iron and blood, was about to face a true "apocalypse" it had never imagined.
"Noxus..." Lin Feng murmured to himself, his eyes flashing with an almost fanatical, experimental light.
"Let me see how long your proud 'power' can struggle against my absolute 'order'."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com