Se connecterCelestine's beauty was beyond compare.What did it really mean for a face to put the moon itself to shame?Ray finally understood that old saying on a whole new level.Celestine and Selene were each stunning in their own distinct way, and beyond their looks, the two of them shared something else in common—beneath their delicate, soft-spoken exteriors, each carried a spine of steel and a genuine devotion to their homeland.Both had given themselves to men they didn't love, all for their country's sake.Admirable, really.Ray's own way of showing his admiration was simple: turn them into his women, and cherish them for as long as they lived.He didn't have to force the issue with Celestine. Instead, he took her boating across Lake Elandra, then out onto Tenlix, then climbed Mount Maurelia and toured the other great peaks nearby, wooing her properly with sweet words and moonlit evenings. What chance did Celestine really stand against courtship techniques imported from a few thousan
Handed down by the heavens? Please.Ray scoffed.In this era, he saw no great pyramid, no great sphinx. If he shifted forward to the early twentieth century instead, he suspected he'd find modern construction crews pouring concrete and assembling these so-called "wonders of the ancient world" from scratch.A load of nonsense from a bunch of con artists is what happened.Not content with just stealing and looting, they'd wrapped themselves in a costume of civilization and lectured everyone else about how backward and ignorant they were—insisting that the only way forward was to fall in line behind them, and to never even think about surpassing them.So whenever anyone dared to compete with them in advanced technology, the West would reach straight for sanctions.A few hundred years back, they'd been nothing but barbarians themselves. In more recent history, they'd turned into looters who dressed the part of civilized men—but could a coat of paint like that ever really scrub away t
Any notable beauties during the twin dynasties that followed the reunification?There might have been, but none worth remembering. Never mind, skip ahead.Ray's tastes had gotten pickier by now—nothing short of the absolute best would do.Then a thought struck him. Instead of nudging time forward again, he opened his spatial perception and, in an instant, appeared thousands of miles away in Khemra.There was something he wanted to confirm for himself.Selene and the other five women barely had time to blink before finding themselves somewhere else entirely.Where was this?They were baffled. First off, it was scorching hot. Second, the people here looked strange—their skin was so dark. Were they even human?And when the locals opened their mouths to speak, the women were even more lost—not a single word made sense.Ray took the six of them on a tour, taking in the sights and customs of Khemra in this era.But no matter how he looked, there were two things he never found.The
Ray focused, and Desmond appeared before him in an instant.Whoops. That was a bit of a miscalculation.He'd originally only meant to stand in for Desmond for three, maybe five years, but he'd gotten a little carried away and let it run on far longer than planned.The real Desmond now stood before him with a face full of stubble, nothing left of the commanding presence he'd once carried."You—it's you!" Desmond said the moment he recognized him.He knew exactly who this was. The "new Kessler" he'd once tried to assassinate was standing right in front of him now, unmistakably.His eyes swept the room, and he did a double take. What was going on here? Six women sat inside, every one of them stunning, every one of them lush and full-figured—exactly his type.Were these Ray's women?If he could just take them for himself... Desmond couldn't help the thought crossing his mind, even now.Watching Desmond's attention drift, Ray couldn't help but feel a little exasperated. Old habits
Ray couldn't help but laugh.Three defenseless women, thinking they could outmaneuver a man like Desmond Vane?He wasn't actually Desmond, sure, but the genuine article couldn't hold a candle to him anyway."Heh, don't worry—I promise Desmond Vane won't lay a finger on you," he said.The three women blinked in surprise, not expecting a single sentence to seemingly checkmate their host so easily.But before they could feel any relief, Ray added, in a low, teasing voice, "But I'm not Desmond Vane. I'm Ray Morley. What Vane does or doesn't do to you has nothing to do with me."He let his true face show through.What?All three women went pale with shock.This wasn't Vane?Impossible.They'd never actually seen the man before and had no idea what he looked like, but even without that, the math didn't add up. This man was—what, twenty-five, twenty-six at most?Desmond Vane had been replaced this whole time? And not one of his own generals or advisors had caught on?"A sorcerer
The moment Ray laid eyes on Marina, something lit up in his expression.No wonder Weston would go on to marry her and crown her Queen without caring in the slightest that she'd once belonged to another man.She was beautiful.And beyond just beautiful, there was some indescribable, pitiable quality to her—though it didn't make him want to protect her so much as torment her, just to chase that extra thrill.There was something almost bewitching about this woman.Cassian had actually managed to hang onto her without dying young?Ray smiled to himself. A woman with a pull like this wasn't something an ordinary man could ever really handle—it took someone like him."Do you know who I am?" he asked."N-no, I don't!" Marina stammered, then dropped straight to her knees. "Please, don't hurt me!"Ray smiled gently. "Don't worry. I'll only cherish you. I'd never hurt you."...The whole room felt like an early spring, and it was wonderful beyond words.That Vane family really did ha
Ray looked at Jayden. "Any last words?"Jayden grinned. "I won't wait around to die! I'm going to kill you. Everything I said just now was pointless anyway. If you kill me—and someday you manage to kill that bitch Mary too—give her my regards on behalf of Robert and me!"Ray didn't bother respondi
What was Ray interested in? Was it these women throwing themselves at him? Absolutely not. The quality was terrible, and after a month or two without washing, their breath alone was enough to knock anyone out. How could he possibly be interested?He could have easily slipped back in the darkness,
So Molly was a physical-type ability user.Ray frowned. A woman lifting him? Where was his pride in all this?So he used one finger and hoisted Molly up effortlessly. "See? This counts as an ability too. It's not flashy like some powers, but honestly, aside from rare ones like spatial abilities, p
'Damn. My worldview… completely shattered,' Ray thought in shock.There were 34 employees in the company, yet the tangled web of sexual relationships among them was beyond belief. Geronimo himself was a lecher, coercing countless female subordinates. But to counter Jack, he even had his wife seduce







