CITY OF DESIRE [KINGDOM BUILDING]

Proofread by Thomas F 

Onyx Halcyon

“Goodbye, my dearest daughter. I hope you will gain all the happiness in the world,” I wished, tears welling up in my eyes.

I want to talk to her more, but I do not have the will to hear my daughter cry.

‘Papa, p’

I heard her pleading scream as I removed my hand from Horish’s.

It was the most painful thing I did. I wish my daughter had been here, but it’s for the best.

“Empty the casino. I need to concentrate.” I said to the man in front of me.

The things have gone so far that I couldn’t even command my own staff. A month ago, the king decreed that the staff would only listen to the commands of guardians.

“It’s done,” he replied.

He didn’t have to say it. I could feel the souls leaving my domain.

“Do you really not want your children and grandchildren to be with you at the last moment, Lord Halcyon? They’re waiting just outside,” he asked, feigning concern.

He didn’t care about them—or me. He was hoping that, with them there, I’d hold back from doing anything they didn’t want.

“Milking is painful. I wouldn’t want them to see me like that,” I replied with a smile.

They all are greedy bastards.

Milking is a process of forcefully extracting the core essence from the very heart of our legacies. It’s excruciatingly painful for the masters—like carving pieces from our very bodies.

It’s humiliating and undignified, especially after everything we’ve done for them.

“His Majesty appreciates your sacrifice, Lord Halcyon. He asked me to tell you that he will not forget it,” the man said, his voice dripping with false sincerity.

“Please, thank His Majesty for me,” I replied, my smile masking the fury beneath.

Over half an hour passed before the entire casino was emptied. Only the guards and the two of us remained, the silence settling in.

Silence has no place in a legacy. This emptiness is unnatural. Not even in the dead of night did it ever fall quiet—it always thundered with the pulse of a thousand cannons.

“I will begin,” I stated, and the man nodded with a smile.

A moment later, the mist drifted into the casino. His smile widened as he watched, holding for over a minute—until his expression shifted. A frown crept onto his face.

He had finally realized what I was doing.

I was supposed to reclaim all the mist into the core, refining it into emotion essence before it could be transformed into core essence. But that wasn’t what was happening.

I am not doing that. Instead, I am infusing this mist into the walls, chandeliers, furniture, and everything else.

“Cease, Lord Halcyon. The consequences of this will be grave for your family,” he threatened. Understanding what I was planning to do.

“Fuck you and that ungrateful little king!” I cursed. I wanted to do that for a long time.

He, too, the king, would be powerless to do anything against them.

It isn’t just about the precedent but also The Synod: the spirits and the titans. The descendants are protected, especially those who are dying with dignity.

Even with all his power, he won’t lay a finger on my children and grandchildren.

“You are making a grave mistake, Lord Halcyon,” warned the man and unsheathed his sword when his expression changed drastically.

“Get out, you little bastard! I won’t have your filthy corpse buried alongside me!” I snarled, my voice ringing with fury. I didn’t flinch or fear that sword—let him try.

I could see the battle raging within him—he wanted to kill me, desperately so. But he also wanted to live. His hands trembled ever so slightly, his grip uncertain. He knew that if he struck me down, his own death would follow, swift and merciless.

So, the very next moment. He bolted.

I wanted to kill the bastard myself, but it would not be worth it. So, I waited until he and the guards left the legacy before burning the mist.

In an instant, the entire casino erupted into a roaring inferno, the flames surging with the raw power of the mist.

I closed my eyes, and at once, the image of my dear wife appeared before me—her smile, her warmth, the love we once shared.

“I’m coming, my love,” I thought, my heart aching with both sorrow and peace.

The next moment, the core of my legacy materialized before me, pulsing with everything I had built, everything I had been.

“I hope you’ll be good to my daughter, Silver,” I said, my voice steady despite the weight of my final act. Then, with one last push, I sent the core toward his legacy, surrendering everything to fate.

At that exact moment, I felt the life leaving me. I thought it would be painful, but to my surprise, it is not. It felt calm and peaceful as I faded out of existence.

…

Caena

‘In Miss Halcyon’s office, now,’

I heard Remus’s voice in my mind. It was a voice full of urgency.

I moved immediately, but it took a while as I needed to get past the guests.

Click!

I reached it and walked inside. Only to see Miss Halcyon and her son crying while Carla and Remus consoled them.

“Old Halcyon is going to die tonight. Likely within the next few hours,” Carla informed me, catching me off guard.

The spell was working better than I had expected, but its true success could only be determined once the core arrived—and it was coming far sooner than I had anticipated or wanted.

I had hoped for at least a day. Instead, I barely had an hour.

Despite the spell functioning as intended, uncertainty gnawed at me. I had no way of knowing how it would truly unfold.

“I’ll give you two some privacy to grieve,” Remus said after a few moments, his tone unreadable. Then, without another word, he turned toward the door, the others following in his wake.

“Focus on the spell,” he said, turning to me. “Zela, try to see if you could contact Halcyon or its guardian,”

With that, he walked toward the party. With the two Halcyons grieving, someone must be at the party.

I watched them leave before stepping into the elevator and ascending to the top floor.

From there, I walked into a room forbidden to all but Remus and me.

Even to Carla and Margaux.

I sat in the circle and closed my eyes before concentrating on the spell.

I could do nothing until the core came after the milking, but sit here. Tracking the spell made me feel calm.

This is far better than being at a party. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them—I do. Witchcraft, after all, is about people.

But right now, I want to focus on real witchcraft. The kind that doesn’t need an audience.

Minutes passed, and I got lost in the spell when something happened.

I felt the death of a legacy from the core. It surprised me, as milking is supposed to last for hours.

Hun!

I was thinking that when a vast, shining casino chip, made of the core essence, appeared in front of me.

I didn’t have to think, but I knew this was the core of Onyx Halcyon. And it was magnificent.

Even in its final moments, even at the edge of death, it blazed with overwhelming power.

The power it contained is far more than even Velvet Garden’s core.

That is not surprising. This core is old—nearly a century old—and at the peak of Grade III.

It is my first time seeing the core of the legacy other than the Velvet Gardens.

The parts of dead legacies that came before were just parts that lost their shape and were divided into a hundred pieces, while this one is complete.

“So, the old man decided to die with dignity,” Remus said, his voice resonating in the room, laced with respect. I did not notice his arrival.

The dignified death. The old man had opposed the sovereign’s will and decided to do without tearing his core apart for the benefit of his king.

‘Then we should honor it,’ I replied, activating the spells.

Immediately, the spell covering the casino activated, and the circle I was sitting in ignited with the raw power of witchcraft, flames of the arcane swirling around me.

A moment later, everything turned dark, and the core of the Velvet Garden appeared, with two planets revolving around it.

One is the planet Harnesser, the one we use to harness the emotion essence.

The second is Holder or Prison, depending on one’s persuasion. It is where we trapped the liches and now where we will take the casino’s core.

The planets are connected with spells. Those violet, golden lines forming a complex diagram on it are the spell I had crafted.

Still, it won’t be easy. I had created this spell with a weak, milked core in mind. Not a whole one, which I heard is tough to break apart.

The holder planet reached it and expanded rapidly until it became five times as big as before, moving to swallow it.

I braced myself for the resistance. Even with this spell, I knew it would be difficult. A small piece of core posed significant resistance; this one would be immense.

“Hun!”

A moment later, astonishment washed over me. The planet absorbed the core, enfolding it without so much as the faintest hint of resistance.

“No resistance?” questioned Remus, in surprise, while I was shocked.

The resistance is from the will of the masters. Their residual emotions, but here, there is none.

“Maybe this is what gift the old man was talking about,” said Remus softly, barely audible.

‘Gift?’ I wanted to ask him about it, but focused on the core.

Since there is no resistance, it is imperative that we get as much as we can. We don’t have much time, a few hours at most, before the pull from the other legacies becomes strong enough that they pull it toward themselves.

I took a deep breath and activated the extraction.

‘There is still a resistance,’ I thought. It is a different kind of resistance. This resistance is the core, trying to maintain its identity despite its death.

Still, the resistance would have been much greater if the master’s will had been added to it.

The holder planet began to glow, radiating outward with its energy. A moment later, two streams—dense as liquid—poured forth from it, swirling with raw energy.

One stream went to the core of the velvet garden, while the other went to the harvest planet. The first stream going to the core contains a vision that aligns with the vision of the Velvet Garden.

The second core essence stream going to the harvest planet is an essence that does not align.

It will be tremendously helpful to us. The Core Essence is far more valuable than the emotional essence.

It can be used for many things, including this spell. I used the core essence of parts of dead legacies we had already harvested.

“It seemed you have everything under control,” Remus commented with relief before leaving the room.

I planned to use him and other girls who have command of the legacy, but since there is no resistance. I do not need to use him or the others.

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