The dawn sunbathed the imperial capital in gold, but for Viscount Leyan, it was anything but a glorious morning.
He sat in his manor's study, hands trembling slightly as he reread the secret report delivered by his most trusted spy—one who had infiltrated the Black Lotus Forest and survived only long enough to send a single scroll.
The report was incomplete, charred at the edges, but the name written clearly in blood ink made his heart freeze:
"Priyanshu Yadav… absorbed the Demonic Lotus Core."
Leyan had long prided himself on his political foresight. He had supported the Second Prince's faction for years, believing the other sons of the emperor were either brutes or cowards. But this… this changed everything.
A demonic domain? From the supposedly weakest prince?
"That fool… he played us all."
He stood, pacing the room. "If even a tenth of this report is true, then he's not just dangerous. He's uncontrollable."
Suddenly, his window shattered.
Leyan spun around, drawing a defensive talisman. Before he could activate it, a blade of pure shadow pressed against his throat. A figure in a silver mask stepped into the room—silent, composed, deadly.
"You know too much," the masked figure said.
"W-Wait!" Leyan cried, raising both hands. "I'm loyal to the throne! I can—"
The masked figure didn't respond with words. Instead, he placed a small crystal on the table.
"Listen well, Viscount Leyan."
The voice that emerged from the crystal was unmistakable—cold, charismatic, layered with amusement.
It was Priyanshu.
"You were wise to investigate. Wiser still to fear. But the wisest move is yet to come.""Swear loyalty. Not to the throne. Not to the princes. But to me. To the real ruler behind this empire."
Leyan's mouth was dry. "W-What do you want from me?"
The voice chuckled. "Continue as you are. Support the Second Prince. Feed him false confidence. But when the final curtain rises, pull the rug from beneath his feet. That's all."
The masked figure handed Leyan a scroll—written in invisible ink only readable with spirit-enhanced eyes.
"If you betray us," the assassin said quietly, "you'll wake up with your soul inside a mirror. Trapped. Forever watching your corpse rot."
Then, like a ghost, he vanished.
That night, Viscount Leyan burned every old report and pledged his entire estate to "a higher authority." He ordered his guards to speak no word of the day's events—and transferred a large sum of spirit stones to an untraceable merchant house.
[System Alert: Noble Influence Acquired – 1.2% Empire Control]Title Gained: Architect of CollapseBonus: +5% Effectiveness in Political Schemes.
Back in the underground hall, Priyanshu sipped tea as the system displayed his expanding web of control.
One noble down.
Hundreds more to go.
But even a spider takes time to spin the perfect web.
And Priyanshu Yadav was no ordinary spider.
He was the shadow that pulled the strings of an empire.