Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System!

Parker straightened his navy Tom Ford jacket one final time as they gathered in the main hall. The palace buzzed with the organized chaos of a cosmic family preparing for what might be the most important social event in universal history.

Ere padded into the room on silent paws, her sleek black form moving with predatory grace that seemed more pronounced than usual. The magical cat's golden eyes held an intensity that made Parker pause.

"Ere? You feeling alright?"

She sat primly and tilted her head, but there was something different in her gaze. For just a moment, Parker could have sworn he saw something ancient flicker behind those golden orbs—a recognition, a memory trying to surface.

"My liege," she said in her normal voice, but it carried an odd weight. "I find myself... remembering things. Fragments. A great ocean, endless depths, power that could swallow galaxies..."

The hall went dead silent.

Then Cassidy snorted with laughter. "Did the Ere I know just call you 'liege'?"

Elena burst into giggles. "The usually arrogant Ere is being... respectful?"

[Oh this is RICH,] Levi's voice chimed in Parker's mind with pure delight. [The sassy kitty is having flashbacks to when she was a cosmic terror and you were her boss. This is better than reality TV.]

Parker knelt beside Ere, understanding dawning. "Your memories are starting to return."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps I'm simply—" Ere's golden eyes narrowed as the laughter continued around her. "Oh, shut UP, all of you! It's not that amusing!"

"Actually, it kind of is," Elena managed between giggles. "You've spent months acting like Parker was barely worth your attention, and now you're calling him 'liege'?"

"I am NOT calling him—" Ere's fur bristled. "Dammit! This is exactly why I hate memory fragments Netflix drama! You remember the respectful part but not why you stopped being respectful!"

[She's having an existential crisis in real time,] Levi observed. [I love it when primordial beings get confused about their own personalities.]

"Too bad Tessa's missing this," Naomi added. "She would have loved seeing the mighty Ere being deferential."

Ere's golden eyes blazed. "I will claw all of your faces off! And you—" she pointed a paw at Parker, "—stop smirking like that!"

"I'm not smirking."

"You're absolutely smirking."

[You're totally smirking,] Levi confirmed. [But can you blame him? This is hilarious.]

"Nyxavere," Parker said, addressing his daughter while trying not to laugh at his indignant cat, "about the entourage... Liliana, Cassiel, and the other Elena are staying here."

"What?" Cassiel looked genuinely disappointed. "But we were ready to watch you destroy generational wealth!"

"You three have no idea who we might be facing tonight," Parker explained seriously. "If this is really one of my Existence-level enemies orchestrating everything, a big group would only make more victims. I need people I can count on to handle cosmic-scale threats, not get caught in the crossfire."

Elena nodded reluctantly. "We understand."

"Seraphina," Parker continued, "you're staying here too."

His second daughter smiled with ancient hunger. "I prefer to stay with Helena anyway. Noctavine's daughter and I have some... projects to discuss."

Scarlett Draven appeared beside her with that CEO smile that made reality submit quarterly reports. "We've been planning some additional activities to do while you're gone."

"Annabelle, Robert," Parker addressed the father-daughter duo. "You're both coming."

The story of Robert Blackwood was one of redemption and family reunion wrapped in cosmic politics. He'd been punished for sins he didn't commit—framed by someone who wanted to destroy the prince. The punishment had been severe, but Robert had accepted it because he knew his weakness had led to the situation in the first place.

During those years of separation, Annabelle had been raised by an imposter—someone who taught her nothing but cruelty and how to torture Parker. The real Robert, meanwhile, had suffered in exile, knowing his daughter was growing up thinking he was a monster.

When the truth finally came out, the reunion had been everything a father could hope for. Annabelle discovered she'd never actually known her real daddy, and Robert got to meet the daughter he'd been forced to abandon. They'd been making up for lost time ever since, their bond growing stronger each day.

"We're honored to accompany you, your Highness" Robert said formally, while Annabelle beamed beside him.

"Where's Julian?" Parker asked, noticing the absence.

Annabelle giggled. "He's gone for some 'self-reflection' at Harvard. His world kind of crashed down when he realized he'd been bullying the Prince of Existence for years."

"Not to mention his girlfriend situation," Evelyn added, Bella appearing in the doorway with that clingy energy that had replaced her former sassy-elf princess persona.

Bella's transformation had been remarkable and slightly terrifying. The girl who'd once been distant and calculating was now practically glued to Parker's side, her previous relationship with Julian revealed to be nothing more than an elaborate scheme to make Parker jealous.

"Julian always knew I never loved him," Bella let out with brutal honesty. "I only used him to try to make you feel something back when I thought of treating you just like some ordinary guys. I mean, what was the point of making the Prince of Existence jealous by dating his... well, his creation? It's kind of embarrassing in hindsight." Actually, whatever she said didn't make any sense.

[Ouch,] Levi commented. [That's gotta sting. 'Hey honey, I only dated you to make God jealous.' Brutal.]

"So, Julian and his little bullying group went back to school until they're summoned," Annabelle finished. "He needed some time to process that his entire worldview was wrong."

"Poor bastard," Parker muttered.

"Don't feel too sorry for him," Bella said, moving closer to Parker with that new clingy energy. "He'll be fine. Besides, you have more important things to worry about tonight."

"Speaking of which," Parker said, "Seoryeon, ready to go watch me buy your former competitors?"

Seoryeon looked up from her financial documents with a smile that could have powered small civilizations. "I've been ready since you first mentioned hostile takeovers as foreplay."

[Now that's what I call a power couple,] Levi observed. [Nothing says romance like corporate warfare.]

"Levi," Parker said not aloud, "now you're back to being your annoying self. Where were you when I was dealing with Existence-level problems like the cores and everything? You practically ran and hid deep in my mind."

[Hey now, that's unfair,] Levi protested. [When you're rewiring the fundamental laws of reality, I figured it was best to stay out of the way. But now that we're back to relationship drama and ex-girlfriend revenge plots? This is my territory, baby. I'm here to give you some top-tier relationship advice about these exes who are back to haunt you.]

"Your relationship advice?" Parker snorted. "You're half of a primordial monster."

[Exactly! I'm ancient, wise, and I've been watching your romantic disasters for more than four lives. Trust me, I have insights.]