Rose Adelaire.
Among Damien's wives, her origin was the least impressive.
She was a princess of a great Empire on Apeiron, sure, but that was the extent of it. The number of people in similar positions to her across the universe was in the millions, if not more.
Her affinities also weren't anything to brag about.
A wind affinity and an illusion affinity, while the latter was definitely rare, it wasn't all that special, at least not in the way it was usually perceived.
Because at the end of the day, illusions were just illusions. Higher caliber experts could see through them all with their perception abilities no matter what kind of strength was poured into them.
Elena was from Earth, but her origins were mysterious and connected to a race long extinct from Grand Heavens Boundary. As for Ruyue, while she also had common origins in the grand scheme of things, she was blessed with an absolute Yin affinity that destined her for greatness.
In comparison, Rose was nothing.
It was the same with her personality. She was always reserved and understanding. She never seemed to have strong opinions of her own, and even when she did, she never truly acted assertive enough for people to take her seriously.
Some people called her bland, some said she was just a shell of a person acting as if she had everything, but…
How could they know?
How could they know the kinds of thoughts in her heart?
If they were talking about the version of her who existed as a princess in Apeiron, they would be correct. That version of her was confused, and even after meeting Damien, it took a long time for that confusion to clear up.
Everyone seemed to have a role, and she desperately tried to find hers. Because of that, she allowed people to walk over her, and she maintained her position for the sake of balance in all things.
She only later realized that was the wrong path.
Whether it be in her mindset or her abilities, stability wasn't right for her.
She had to embrace chaos.
The Rose Adelaire that people couldn't see was a monster. She was someone with such a calculative mind that even old experts like Luciel would find themselves losing ground against her, and on the battlefield, she knew exactly how to end battles by forcing the enemies to endure the things they wanted to face the least.
Rose originally had a common destiny. She was meant to live in Apeiron for the rest of her life, not really achieving much more than that planet's expectations.
However, she changed that destiny with her own hands.
She took hold of her illusion affinity and found a path to make it far greater than it should have ever been, using properties similar to Ruyue's Yin, and she learned to read the future and absolutely understand the hearts of others by spending time observing them.
She took in everything around her and made it her own, and somehow, by her own efforts, she rose to a position indispensable to the universe.
She was someone others adored, and she was someone others wished to be.
But that didn't matter to her.
She never did it for the sake of anyone else.
She did it because she wanted to find her place. Not a role that she put herself in, and not some kind of position in other people's hearts, but the place that made her feel like she was at home in her own skin.
The answer she found through that pursuit was one present before her almost her entire life.
'Illusory Throne.'
She summoned it, the same throne she'd sat on since her days as a young girl who just wanted to experience adventure.
However, the weight of that throne couldn't be easily compared to anything else anymore,
This was her seat.
She was to be the empress of reality, someone who could control all things at her whim.
Yes, it was an unrealistic dream, but did that matter?
In the first place, if one wanted to stand by Damien's side, one had to have the ambitions to make those unrealistic aspirations into a reality.
Rose couldn't stop smiling.
She was in a good mood ever since she found out about Damien's survival, but something about today made her feel even more joyous than before.
In the past, even a single one of these Supremes would have been enough to make her feel terror. They would have looked at her like a piece of trash as they killed her with no consideration for her thoughts in the slightest.
But now?
Now they were standing around her and cowering in fear despite their numbers.
It was amusing, and it was fulfilling. It was a sight that validated the effort she put in until now, and made her fully commit to the effort she'd need to put in throughout the countless days to come.
A battle like this held profound meaning for the universe, but to her, it was just another stepping stone.
And as if she needed to prove her right to have such domineering thoughts, she acted quickly to eradicate the enemy.
There was no difference between reality and illusion. Reality itself was just an illusion brought about by a mixture of perception and law.
The true face of reality was nothing more than a bubble amidst the infinite beyond that nobody could understand.
Such a bubble, why did it need to be viewed as something grand?
In her eyes, the fabric of reality was just something to be weaved, something to be worn, and something to be manipulated.
The Nox Supremes around her tried to attack.
They weren't idiots who'd stand still and allow her to maintain an advantage over them.
However, even if they tried to attack, what could they do?
Reality itself was against them.
They were already trapped in the Empress' web.
Their own attacks became their enemies. Anything they sent would be multiplied and sent back without delay. The mana within their bodies refused to follow their commands, and the environment would constrict and contract to defy any expectations they had for it.
It was hard to describe such a fighting style in words, but it was a magnificent scene to witness.
Because Rose did nothing.
She merely sat in the middle of that domain and watched them struggle from her imperial throne.
Yet, despite her inaction, the enemies who outnumbered her twelve to one and were supposed to have strength matching hers could not even approach her.
This was the position of an Empress, the position she'd desired and worked towards for so long.
And though she didn't know it, her power, the power over reality she'd established through illusions…
…was extremely reminiscent of Damien's power over Existence.
Scarily so.
A woman who was never fated to accomplish anything accomplished more than anything those around her could even dream of.
This was what it meant to fight against fate.
She didn't even know of Damien's new mission, but she was the one who was closest to walking the first steps on that path.
Perhaps that was why…?
No matter how much time passed or how they changed and grew, Rose was always at the top of the hierarchy between wives.
She was always the first wife who could represent the three of them with confidence.
And right now, she was the Grand Commander who oversaw this entire war.
"Hmm, I finished earlier than expected…"
Twelve Supremes couldn't last more than ten minutes against her.
Since she now found herself with a surplus of time…
"...should I go help, or…?"
She smiled as an idea came to mind.
"Yeah, let's do that instead."
She hadn't had fun in a very long time, so didn't she deserve a bit right now?
She was going to do something extremely amusing.
So amusing that even Damien, who was watching from beyond existence, was chuckling uncontrollably as he watched it happen!
