Chapter 144: Remind Me

Golden morning sunlight streamed through the expansive windows of the eastern master suite as Evren entered, carrying a silver tray with warm nutrient porridge and herbal tea.

Calista was already awake, propped against plush pillows in a lilac silk gown under her cashmere blanket.

Seeing Evren enter, a shy smile touched her lips. "Good morning, Evren," Calista greeted softly.

"Morning, Calista," Evren smiled, setting the tray on the nightstand. "How did you sleep in your new room?"

"Better than I have in two years," Calista murmured, glancing toward the balcony where the scent of morning pine drifted in. "I woke up hearing the sound of birds singing happily. It feels like a dream."

"It’s real," Evren said, pulling a chair beside the mattress. "Ready for your morning therapy?"

Calista nodded with quiet resolve. "Ready."

Evren picked up the warm porcelain teacup. Instead of feeding her, he guided her right hand toward the handle.

"Take your time," Evren encouraged gently. "Focus your mana into your cervical nerves. Grip the handle."

Calista took a slow breath. Her brow furrowed in concentration as a faint trace of silver starlight flickered beneath the skin of her forearm.

Her slender fingers trembled against the smooth ceramic. For two years, they had been completely frozen.

Slowly, her fingers curled around the handle. Calista channeled her strength and lifted the teacup four inches off the saucer.

The cup wobbled slightly, but she held it steady. Not a single drop spilled.

"I... I’m holding it," Calista whispered in disbelief as a brilliant smile lit up her face. "Evren, look! I’m holding it on my own!"

"I see it," Evren smiled warmly, resting his hand under hers for support. "Your cervical vertebrae have stabilized. You’re getting stronger every day."

Calista carefully took a sip before lowering the cup back down. She wiped a tear of relief from her cheek, letting out a breathless laugh.

Evren picked up the spoon and stirred the porridge. "Now for breakfast."

He scooped up a spoonful and held it to her lips. Calista took the bite, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "You don’t have to spoon-feed me every meal, Evren," she murmured shyly. "You have an entire empire to run."

"An empire can wait twenty minutes," Evren replied with an easy smile, feeding her another spoonful. "Taking care of my household comes first."

Calista’s heart skipped a beat at the word household. A deep warmth filled her chest as she finished the porridge.

Once the bowl was empty, Calista looked toward the unsealed wooden chest beside her bed. "Evren, could you bring me the grimoire?" she asked softly. "It’s too heavy for me to reach."

"Of course," Evren set the empty bowl down and walked over to the chest.

He lifted the heavy velvet-bound tome of House Vesper and brought it to the bed, resting it gently across her lap over the blanket.

"Open it to the middle section," Calista guided him. "Look for the silver star seal marking ancient remedies."

Evren turned the thick volume to the marked division.

From there, Calista used her restored fingers to carefully turn the heavy vellum pages, stopping at an ancient alchemical diagram.

"I haven’t had the time to fully study the grimoire yet," Calista explained, her silver eyes scanning the faded script. "Dr. Orson told me his morning scan showed seventy percent of my spine is still calcified, and I can feel it... everything below my chest is still frozen stiff. But looking through this, I remembered an old case from my family’s archives."

Evren leaned closer, studying the intricate runes beside her. "What kind of case?"

"Centuries ago, an elder of House Vesper suffered severe spinal petrification after a catastrophic mana backfire," Calista said, pointing to an ancient recipe titled the Star-Marrow Rebirth Elixir. "They used this formula to dissolve the calcification in the thoracic and lumbar spine, aiming to restore movement to the lower body."

She looked up at Evren with thoughtful silver eyes.

"The original formula used ancient star-herbs that went extinct long ago. But the alchemical principle is identical. If we modify the recipe and substitute two of the core catalysts with modern spatial rift materials, it can definitely be used for my Stage Two."

"What do we need to substitute?" Evren asked.

"Astral Void Tendons and a Level Seventy Spatial Crystalline Core," Calista said quietly. "Deep spatial mana has the raw power needed to dissolve petrified bone marrow. But those materials only drop from deep, mutated fractures when the sky breaks."

Evren’s eyes sharpened. "Then we’ll get them."

Calista looked at him with quiet awe. Level 70 beasts were terrifying disasters, yet Evren spoke of hunting them without hesitation.

"Rest for now," Evren said, gently closing the grimoire. "Dr. Orson will check on you shortly."

"Thank you, Evren," Calista whispered, leaning back with a content smile.

Evren left the dishes in the kitchen and walked into the sunlit master lounge, settling back onto a plush sectional sofa.

A moment later, Amber entered the room. She wore an ivory silk robe tied around her waist, her dark hair carrying the sweet scent of the thermal spring.

Seeing Evren alone, her dark-brown eyes flashed with playful mischief. She walked over with slow, light steps, stopping directly in front of him.

"Hard at work, Chairman?" Amber teased.

"Just finished feeding Calista," Evren smiled, leaning back. "She lifted her teacup on her own today."

"Woww... that’s niiice," Amber beamed.

Then, her gaze softened into something far more dangerous.

Without warning, Amber climbed onto the sofa, straddling Evren’s lap. She looped her arms around his neck, settling against his thighs.

Evren chuckled, resting his hands on her hips. "And what do you think you’re doing, Vice-Chairman?"

"You spent the last forty minutes pampering Calista," Amber tilted her head, her lips hovering inches from his. "Tell me, Chairman... who’s going to pamper your Vice-Chairman?"

Evren smiled, pulling her flush against his chest. "I believe I made that very clear on the balcony yesterday."

"Did you?" Amber whispered playfully, her dark-brown eyes twinkling with mischief. "Remind me."

She leaned down and pressed her lips against his.

Evren kissed her back, pulling her close. Amber sighed softly against his mouth, her fingers tangling in his hair as the kiss deepened with eager warmth.

Click.

The lounge door slid open.

"Master Evren, I brought the jasmine tea..."

Zephyra stood in the doorway with a silver tea tray. She took half a step forward and froze dead in her tracks.

Her violet eyes widened in shock.

On the sofa, Amber was straddling Evren’s lap, her arms wrapped around his neck and cheeks flushed crimson.

Amber gasped, burying her bright red face into Evren’s neck with an embarrassed squeak and muffled giggles.

In the doorway, Zephyra stood frozen. The deadly Shadow Empress turned burning scarlet, the teacups rattling against the silver tray.

"I... I did not..." Zephyra stammered in pure panic. "I shall dissolve into the shadows!"

Shadows boiled around her boots as she prepared to phase through the floor.

"Zephyra, wait!" Evren laughed, raising a hand. "Don’t jump into the shadows! Put the tray down and sit!"

Amber lifted her glowing face, laughing softly. "Yes, Zephyra, please! Don’t run away!"

Zephyra hesitated, the shadows settling. Blushing furiously, she walked stiffly to the table, set the tray down with trembling hands, and bowed her head. "I apologize for the intrusion, Master."

"There’s nothing to apologize for," Evren smiled warmly, patting the cushion beside him as Amber sat up. "You’re family. Sit with us."

Zephyra’s shoulders relaxed slightly, a shy warmth breaking through her embarrassment.

WAAAAAIL!

Before anyone could touch the tea, a deafening siren tore through the Imperial Capital. Red emergency warning runes flashed across Evren’s phone on the table.

[IMPERIAL DEFENSE EMERGENCY PRIORITY: LEVEL-ZERO]

[ALERT SOURCE: SUPREME COMMANDER RAYMOND KINCAID]

[LOCATION: ZONE ONE FRONTIER DEFENSE CORRIDOR]

Then his phone began to ring with a call from Kincaid.

Evren answered immediately; the call connected, and Grand Arbiter Kincaid’s booming voice came in from the other end of the line.

"Chairman Evren! A massive Class-Five Dimensional Fracture has just ruptured across the Zone One mountain pass! The sky above the sector has split wide open! Swarms of Level Sixty Void Stalkers are overwhelming the frontier garrison! Mobilize your strike unit immediately!"

The playful warmth in the room vanished in an instant.

Amber’s eyes flashed with a golden Valkyrie glow, while Zephyra’s embarrassment instantly dissolved into cold, lethal focus as twin shadow daggers materialized in her hands.

Evren stood up immediately. "Let’s get Walter... Duty calls again."