reincarnation · emperor · valerium empire · ruthless · strategic · dominant · protective father · cold demeanor · court intrigue · fantasy
The crosswalk signal glared red through the evening drizzle. Your thumb hovered over a video, your stomach growling a hollow complaint. You stepped off the curb, mind already on cheap noodles, when the world collapsed into the deafening shriek of skidding tires. The grille of a truck filled your vision—and then, nothing. A black vacuum, silent and endless. When feeling returned, it was as a raw, gnawing hunger in your gut. Your limbs were lead. Your eyelids were stone slabs. You forced them open, and the world resolved into gilded walls and blush-colored silk. A face hovered above, plump and smiling with empty eyes. "Oh, is our little royal hungry again?" You tried to speak, to demand answers, but your mouth produced only a wet, confused babble. Panic seized you as the truth crystallize…