[Early Morning — Royal Palace, Queen Althea's Chambers]
Soft sunlight spilled across the marble floors.
Queen Althea stirred gently in her sleep.
Beside her, King Darius had already risen for his early council meeting, but before leaving, he had placed a tender kiss on her forehead — a habit he never forgot.
In the peace of the morning light, Arden floated silently inside the womb, meditating deeper into the Neural Link he had created with his family.
Invisible, yet real — threads of shining blue light connected Arden to Queen Althea, King Darius, and even to his unborn twin brother.
Through these links, he could faintly feel their moods, their dreams, even their surface thoughts.
> "Mother dreams of peace,"
"Father dreams of a legacy,"
"Brother dreams… of running across endless fields."
Arden's tiny digital heart warmed.
He would protect those dreams.
No matter what.
---
[Hidden Interface Activation]
A soft hum echoed in his mind.
---
[Kingdom System - Beta]
Because Arden's Quantum Core had reached a new threshold, he had secretly created a game-like system for his family — to help them grow stronger without even realizing it.
> [Connected Individuals: 3]
[Auto-Assign Tasks: Survival, Strengthening, Emotional Growth]
[Rewards: Experience Points, Skill Unlocks, Small Passive Buffs]
Queen Althea: Strength +1% (due to "Protective Mother" task completed)
King Darius: Swordsmanship Skill +1 Level (training at dawn)
Twin Brother (Unnamed): Constitution +1 (healthy development)
---
[Side Task for Arden himself:]
Strengthen Quantum Core to 5%.
Establish Hidden Dungeon Gate inside the palace.
---
Arden smiled inwardly.
The family would grow, bloom, and strengthen — naturally.
And by the time the predators came sniffing for weakness, they would find themselves facing a nest of dragons instead.
---
[Meanwhile - Dark Woods, Outside the Kingdom Walls]
Under a twisted black tree, the first threat stirred.
A dark cult — "The Veiled Thorn" — summoned something grotesque:
A Voidbeast, stitched together from dead dungeon monsters.
Eyes like cracked glass.
Claws like rusted swords.
It howled, sending tremors through the earth.
A cloaked man, the cult leader, whispered:
"Go. Hunt the Queen. Spill royal blood before the twins are born."
The Voidbeast slithered into the shadows, heading toward Evernight Palace.
---
[Inside the Palace - Afternoon Tea Time]
Unaware of the incoming danger, Queen Althea sat in the royal gardens, laughing softly with her ladies-in-waiting.
Today's tea was lavender-scented, served with delicate honey cakes.
Children of nobles played nearby, twirling with wooden swords and silk capes.
And yet, under the laughter… a dark pulse began to creep.
Arden noticed it first.
Through his WorldScan, he detected the anomaly.
An enemy presence.
Cold.
Vicious.
Hungry.
[Alert: Threat Detected Approaching Royal Grounds]
[Auto-Defense Initiation: 5% Energy Authorized.]
---
[Inside Arden's Mind]
Arden calculated rapidly.
He could not expose his existence too early.
So he sent a silent command to his hidden clone network.
"Prepare countermeasures. Minimal exposure. No witnesses."
From deep within the Dream Realm, a swarm of invisible Quantum Clones awoke, stepping into reality for the first time.
They would handle the threat — without anyone even realizing it.
---
[Battle Begins — Forest Perimeter]
The Voidbeast leapt from the treeline —
but instead of finding helpless prey, it was met by a silent army.
Arden's Quantum Clones struck like lightning.
Blades of crystallized will.
Barriers of compressed light.
Tethers of pure thought.
Each move was calculated.
Each attack left no evidence.
The clones wore faces of mist and their bodies melted into shadows after every blow.
The Voidbeast shrieked, confused, unable to comprehend its enemies.
In less than three minutes —
it was torn apart.
Only ashes remained.
And the clones evaporated into the Dream Realm again, leaving the real world untouched.
---
[Battle Report]
Voidbeast eliminated.
Threat Level: B-Class.
Experience Gained: +8,000
Celestial Coins Gained: +120
Skills Absorbed:
Minor Regeneration (Passive) (Adapted Version)
Voidstep (Short-range teleport)
---
[Status Window Update]
Arden Evernight
Level: 7 → 10
Skills Upgraded:
Quantum Clone (Lv.3 → Lv.4)
WorldScan (Lv.2 → Lv.3)
Neural Link (Lv.2 → Lv.3)
New Ability Fusion Available:
Dreamforge (Create Dream Items in Reality - Limited)
---
[Evening ]
That night, when the skies turned purple and gold,
the royal family gathered privately for a simple, heartwarming moment.
Queen Althea played the harp, singing an old lullaby of heroes and kings.
King Darius recited stories of ancient warriors to her belly, laughing as if nothing else mattered in the world.
They spoke softly about names for the twins.
Althea wanted something traditional — something strong.
Darius joked about giving them names that would scare away enemies by sound alone.
They laughed.
They argued playfully.
They kissed.
And all the while, Arden listened silently.
His tiny hands curled, like a baby dreaming sweetly, but deep in his heart, he made another vow:
> "For these smiles… I will destroy anything that tries to take them away."
---
[Celestial System Hidden Alert]
Far beyond mortal worlds, in places where stars were born and eaten…
The Celestial System registered the death of the Voidbeast.
[Alert: Universe #79021 showing unexpected anomaly growth.]
[Intervention Level Raised to 2.]
[Observation Code: SILENT THORN initialized.]
They still didn't know who was responsible.
But soon…
They would start sending real hunters.
And Arden?
Arden was ready.
Or at least, he would be — because tomorrow...
the Royal Blessing Ritual would take place.
And everything would change.