Ancestral Lineage

The sound of battle echoed through Redfik Street, a relentless symphony of clashing steel, dying screams, and the crackle of unleashed energy. Smith Clan warriors and Blade Clan soldiers fought with unyielding ferocity, neither side willing to surrender. The once-proud streets were now littered with blood, scorch marks, severed limbs, and shattered weapons, turning the battlefield into a nightmarish graveyard.

Yet, amidst the carnage, one structure remained untouched.

A colossal fortress of ice stood in the heart of Veryan City, its sheer presence dominating the skyline. Thick, white, and unnaturally cold, it pulsed with an eerie energy that sent shivers through the air. The frost that surrounded it was no ordinary ice—it was death itself. Any who dared venture too close were instantly frozen solid, their bodies transformed into statues of suffering. But the most horrifying part was the screaming.

Those trapped in ice did not die in silence.

Instead, their agonized wails filled the battlefield, their frozen throats carrying cries that sounded like they were burning alive rather than freezing to death.

Inside this frozen citadel, eight women sat in council.

Harley, Clara, Carmen, Andriel, Lisa, Pisces, Christel, and Elaine—each clad in distinct battle attire, their dresses reflecting their individual power and authority. Only Elaine stood apart from the rest, her outfit different—a flowing green dress, draped in an elegant coat, with simple sandals upon her feet. Her long emerald hair, neatly braided, trailed to the icy floor, glistening under the cold glow of their stronghold.

Her bright yet droopy eyes reflected her exhaustion, her expression one of both wisdom and weariness.

The war raged outside, but within these frozen halls, another battle was being fought—one of love and affection.

The cold glow of the ice fortress illuminated the women seated within its vast chamber, the air thick with an unspoken understanding of the war raging outside. They were warriors, strategists, and lovers, bound not just by their individual strengths but by the singular man who had chosen them, and whom they had chosen in return—Ethan.

Seated around a table sculpted from pure ice, they faced one another, their gazes sharp, filled with determination. Despite the battle outside, despite the chaos that swirled in the world beyond these walls, this meeting was necessary.

Harley was the first to speak.

"I suppose we all know why we are here," she said, her golden hair catching the cold light like strands of fire in the frost. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice carried the weight of authority. "Alone."

There was a pause before Christel responded, her green eyes flickering with something between hesitation and defiance.

"Is it, perhaps, to assure us of our positions in the harem?" she asked, her voice steady, though her posture betrayed the battle waging within her.

A soft chuckle broke the tension.

"No, honey. There's no such thing as 'positions' in Darling's harem," Carmen replied, her cat tail swaying behind her with an elegant ease. The affectionate smile on her lips radiated warmth, calm and unwavering.

"Why would you even think of that?" Lisa asked, her golden eyes glowing softly as she leaned forward, brows slightly furrowed in curiosity.

Christel shifted uncomfortably. "I... I'm sorry. But this is how it has always been with kings and their harems," she admitted. "The strongest woman holds dominance over the others. They fight for favor, for power, for the right to stand closest to him."

A sigh echoed through the chamber.

"You need to be taught a few things," Pisces said, her tone carrying the patience of a teacher correcting a misguided student. "Ethan isn't like that. He doesn't distinguish between us. We are all his, and he is ours, equally."

Clara nodded, her white hair shimmering like frost. "He has never seen us as competitors. He doesn't rank us. There is no first wife, no second, no 'favorite.' To him, we are one and the same—his beloveds."

"And that," Andriel added softly, "is why we follow him. He loves without restraint, without calculation, without division. That is what makes him different."

Elaine, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"I... see," she murmured. Her bright green eyes wavered slightly as she looked at each woman, as though gauging the sincerity of their words. "It's just... difficult to grasp. I expected there to be some kind of hierarchy. That's what I believed. That's what I've always seen, even among the strongest of men."

Harley tilted her head slightly. "Then tell me, Elaine. Have you ever seen a man like Ethan before?"

Elaine hesitated, then shook her head.

"No," she admitted.

Harley smiled. "Then stop expecting him to follow the rules of lesser men."

A silence followed, heavy yet understanding.

Carmen stretched lazily, her cat ears twitching. "Now that we've cleared that up, let's move on to the real reason for this meeting."

Lisa's expression hardened. "We need to discuss how we're going to assist Ethan."

The room tensed as the weight of the discussion settled over them.

Ethan was not here.

He was in the Beast Plane, carving a path through realms of monsters and curses.

And though he was beyond their reach, they would not sit idly by and do nothing.

"We have the Blade Clan pressing in," Andriel said, leaning forward. "Even though we've held Redfik Street, this battle isn't going to end with just one clash. The Smith Clan is strong, but our forces are being stretched thin."

"Not to mention," Christel added, her voice now steadier, "the strange events that have been occurring."

Harley nodded. "We cannot rely on Ethan to be our solution to everything. We are his wives, his partners. We must ensure that when he returns, he does not find a battlefield in ruin, but a kingdom waiting for him."

The ice around them seemed to hum with their resolve.

"First," Pisces spoke, her voice calm yet commanding, "we secure the city. Hold the line against the Blade Clan. We cannot afford to let them gain any more ground."

"Second," Carmen added, "we investigate the source of the strange occurrences happening around the battlefield. If it is a power that can aid us, we must claim it. If it is an enemy force, we must eliminate it."

"And third," Harley finished, "we prepare for Ethan's return. We do not know how long he will be in the Beast Plane, but when he comes back, he must find us stronger than when he left."

The women exchanged glances, their determination reflected in each other's eyes.

They had each come from different walks of life—warriors, nobles. But now, they were one.

Ethan's absence did not make them weak.

It made them unstoppable.

And when he returned, he would find not helpless damsels awaiting his protection—

But queens who had already conquered the battlefield.

Christel hesitated, her fingers tightening slightly around the fabric of her dress. "You talk as if I am also his wife. But I'm just a mere con—"

"Baby girl, don't talk like that," Lisa interrupted with an amused smirk, leaning forward with her golden eyes gleaming. "Once Ethan chose you. Once he accepted you, regardless of who or what you were, you became his mistress, his wife by default. Don't you want that?"

Christel's throat bobbed slightly. "I... I..."

"I know you want that," Lisa continued, her voice soothing yet firm. "Don't refuse it. Just accept it, okay?"

A moment of silence passed before Christel nodded slightly, her face tinged with an unreadable expression.

"Mm... okay."

Lisa's lips curled into a knowing smile before leaning back into her chair.

Pisces, who had been listening intently, crossed her arms. "So, what do we do now?"

Clara let out a soft chuckle. "Have you already forgotten that he gave us gifts?"

""Huh?"" The others blinked in confusion.

"You guys really forgot?" Harley asked, raising a brow. "Apart from Christel and Elaine, the rest of us are Ancestors of certain aspects, right?"

A moment of realization swept across their faces.

"Yeahhhh..." Andriel murmured, eyes widening slightly.

"Then it's high time we learned what they are and how to fully utilize them," Carmen said, flicking her cat tail behind her. "Some, like mine, are a bit easy to grasp, but others—like Lisa's—are complex. We have a lot to work on."

"But how do we—"

Before the sentence could be completed, a soft, ethereal voice echoed through the chamber.

"I think I have a way for that."

The women snapped their gazes toward the source.

A portal had appeared in the fortress, its swirling form a deep crimson, almost orange, radiating a burning aura that made the very ice around it groan and crack slightly. The temperature in the room shifted unnaturally, a strange mix of heat and cold clashing in the air.

The wives instinctively prepared themselves, some placing hands on their weapons, others summoning their respective energies.

"Who?" Clara's voice was steady, yet alert.

The portal flickered. The energy within it pulsed.

And then—

A figure stepped through.

...

Ethan stood atop a jagged rock, watching as his beasts tore through the endless horde of monstrous creatures. Flames roared, lightning cracked, and shadows slithered like hungry vipers, consuming everything in their path. Stygian ripped apart a towering behemoth, his fangs sinking deep into its cursed flesh, while Maverick let out an earth-shaking screech, sending razor-sharp wind blades tinged with dark spikes cutting through the battlefield.

Galeno, massive and unshakable, crashed through the horde like a living fortress, while Angitia coiled around a monstrous centipede, her venom turning it into a shrieking pile of dust. Onyx, the Formless One, morphed and twisted, devouring entire beasts in an instant.

Ethan's golden eyes sparkled with amusement and admiration as he took in the sheer devastation. Then, out of nowhere, he threw his head back, grinning like a madman.

"I'm in love!" he exclaimed.

The battlefield fell silent for just a second.

His beasts paused—only for a moment—before utterly annihilating the remaining creatures with even more ferocity.

Maverick cackled. "Finally realized it, huh?"

Ethan just laughed, stretching his arms wide, his aura blazing. "How can I not be? Look at you all! You're beautiful!"

But in his mind, he was seeing his wives.