Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)

Third Person's POV

Cursing herself for her weakness, she swiftly turned her head away and wiped her eyes with a delicate but trembling hand.

She didn't want Isha to see her this way—to see how much of the way she addressed her just now weighed on her.

But no matter how much she tried to conceal it, her heart was far from steady.

Nyx swiftly sniveled once and regained her composure in an instant. Her face returned to its usual stoic and cold expression but the only response she received was a soft chuckle in her ear.

Her golden eyes narrowed as she sharply turned her head to the side.

To her mild annoyance, Isha was now sitting beside her on the swing as if she had always belonged there.

Her platinum dress had somehow dried completely and clung to her ample chest without any straps to hold it in place.

She looked ethereal like a fairy resting amidst nature's embrace as her silvery-white hair cascaded down her shoulders. Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

She rested her chin lightly on her palm while carrying an amused glint in her blue eyes.

"Why are you crying, little sister? Are you emotional that I called you that again?" Isha teased in a light tone but it was simultaneously laced with a deeper emotion that she tried to suppress.

Even though Isha played it cool and pretended to be detached and superior, Nyx could see through the act.

She could tell that even Isha had become a bit emotional.

Feeling her deep stare, Isha turned her gaze toward the sky and admired its endless blue expanse.

The gentle wind carried a fine mist from the waterfall and occasionally brushed against her skin.

With one hand resting on the swing's backrest, she appeared to be entirely at ease yet Nyx knew better.

She recognized the subtle tension in her posture and the way she avoided direct eye contact for too long.

Nyx sighed softly and suddenly felt the weight of years pressing down on her heart.

Despite the walls they had both erected, the moment carried a strange sense of nostalgia. Finally, she whispered as her voice trembled slightly.

"It has been exactly two hundred years, six months, and thirteen days since we last met and called each other that… big sister."

At those words, Isha's expression froze. Her blue eyes flickered with something indecipherable before she turned to fully meet Nyx's gaze.

"Indeed, it has been a long time since you called me that... little Nyx."

Nyx's full lips parted as if she wanted to say something more and something meaningful but before she could, Isha's next words shattered the delicate moment.

"But you don't need to, my dear little sister. Even if you try so hard, we can't go back to those times again."

Isha's voice was even yet it carried the weight of an unhealed wound.

"Not after what your mother did to mine. So, there is no need to try. Nothing can revert our situation to what it was."

A tense silence stretched between them.

Nyx's golden eyes trembled for a fraction of a second before she masked it with cold indifference.

In a stoic and emotionless voice this time, she stated her purpose for coming here.

"I need one of your Astral Serenity Lotuses."

Isha arched a delicate brow at her request.

"Oh? Care to explain why? You should know, Nyx that these lotuses are so rare that I can count the known locations in which they are found in this world on one hand.

They take five hundred years to bloom from the state of a bud. It is also immensely important to my soul's ascension and... to maintain my mother's current state."

Her voice was calm but her gaze was ice-cold now.

It was the first time she had shown such an expression since Nyx's arrival.

Irritation, amusement, and teasing had dominated their interactions until now but this was different.

It was a quiet and simmering warning.

White flames flickered in Isha's cerulean eyes while Nyx's golden irises darkened as if the suns within them had set and been replaced by an ominous dark fire.

The air between them crackled with silent tension yet neither made a move.

Then, Nyx took a slow breath and calmed herself.

"I can give you three drops of the Empyrean Hellblaze Essence in return for a mature Astral Serenity Lotus."

For the first time in their entire conversation, Isha's carefully maintained composure cracked. Shock flickered across her face before she quickly concealed it.

However, Nyx had seen it.

"What reason could possibly warrant such an unfavorable trade, Nyx?" Isha asked after a moment in a low and cautious voice.

"Does this have something to do with that 'he' of yours?"

This time, Nyx was completely unfazed.

She met Isha's gaze impassively and said,

"That is none of your business. You just have to focus on what I am trading for the lotus."

Isha sighed and knew that she would get nothing more out of Nyx not after she herself had shattered the emotional moment that had started simmering between them.

She leaned back slightly with a thoughtful expression.

"Alright, but since you are offering three drops of the Empyrean Hellblaze Essence, I won't cheat you.

I will add thirty ounces of Red Crystal Sand along with the mature Astral Serenity Lotus."

Nyx gave a small nod and was satisfied this time.

Red Crystal Sand was an extremely rare material and not found anywhere on the Agate Star World.

Only a few lifeless planets in the outer reaches of their planetary cluster held deposits of it.

One had to possess the power to connect their very beings with the heavens i.e. be a Heaven Connection being to be someone strong enough to transcend the worldly restrictions of this world and survive the vast emptiness of space.

Even among such beings like her and Isha only a handful had ever successfully mined the sand as the journey near their home star was grueling.