Cassian stood up first, his massive body easily stepping out into the open air. He did not wait for Lin Wan to move; he simply reached back inside, his large, powerful hand wrapping securely around her arm, and pulled her out onto the smooth marble floor boards.

Lin Wan’s boots touched the ground, and she immediately looked up, her breath hitching sharply in her chest.

*Gasp.*

The palace loomed over them like a massive, sleeping beast. The walls were constructed from pure white jade that glowed with a faint, inner light, and the grand entrance was flanked by twelve massive pillars carved into the shapes of roaring manticores with extended wings.

Standing in perfect rows across the entire courtyard were hundreds of high-tier royal officials, elders, and commanders. The moment Cassian stepped onto the stone, the entire crowd dropped to their knees, their long robes trailing in the dust as they bowed their heads to the floor.

"Welcome back, Supreme Sovereign!" their voices echoed across the mountain peaks, filled with absolute submission.

Cassian didn’t even look at them. He didn’t grant them permission to rise. He kept his large hand locked around Lin Wan’s arm, leading her past the sea of bowed officials and straight through the massive golden doors of the main palace.

The interior of the palace was a dizzying maze of grand corridors lined with silk curtains, massive pillars of solid gold, and wide courtyards filled with rare, glowing magical plants. Every single servant they passed, beautiful female beastmen with soft ears and silk dresses, immediately dropped to their knees, pressing their faces against the polished floorboards until they passed.

Lin Wan felt completely overwhelmed. She was being dragged through a world of unimaginable wealth and luxury, yet she felt like a prisoner being led to the execution block. Her hand remained tucked inside her pocket, her fingers pressing against the hard shapes of the spirit stones.

Finally, after walking through several grand hallways, Cassian stopped in front of a pair of massive double doors made of rare, dark ironwood. The doors were carved with intricate runes of protection that hummed with a heavy, spatial energy.

*Creak.*

With a wave of Cassian’s hand, the heavy doors swung open silently.

Lin Wan’s eyes went wide as she looked inside. It was not a throne room or a dark dungeon. It was a massive, incredibly luxurious bedroom chamber.

The floor was covered in thick, plush carpets made of white beast fur that felt like clouds. In the center of the room sat a massive bed, large enough for five people, piled high with soft silk blankets of deep crimson and gold.

The far wall was made entirely of thick, clear crystal glass, offering a stunning, wide-open view of the entire capital city below, stretching all the way to the distant mountains.

But as Lin Wan stepped into the room, a cold shiver ran down her spine.

She could feel a strange, heavy vibration in the air. She looked closely at the walls, her eyes catching the faint, shimmering lines of a massive magical array woven into the very stone. It was a spatial lockdown barrier. It was invisible, but its strength was absolute.

"Weiwei..." Lin Wan called out in her mind, her voice trembling. "Is this... a defensive array?"

A faint digital chime echoed in her brain.

[Host... it is a high-tier cage,] Weiwei reported, her digital tone filled with a deep, hopeless sorrow. [The runes woven into these walls form a Supreme Sovereign Isolation Barrier. It is designed to keep things out... but it is also designed to keep things in. No spatial tokens can activate inside this room. No communication arrays can pass through these walls. The only person who can open or close these doors... is Prince Cassian himself. You cannot escape from this room, host. Not even if I use all my remaining system power.]

Lin Wan’s heart sank straight into a dark abyss. She slowly turned around, her back pressing against the soft fur carpet, her eyes fixing onto Cassian’s tall, imposing figure as he stepped into the room behind her.

*Thud.*

The heavy ironwood doors shut behind him, the lock clicking into place with a sound that felt like a death sentence.

*Click.*

Cassian walked slowly into the center of the room. He unclasped his heavy crimson outer robe, letting the blood-stained fabric slide off his broad shoulders and drop onto the white floorboards without a single care.

He was now wearing only a loose tunic of thin black silk that clung tightly to his massive chest, revealing the thick, powerful muscles underneath. His sharp golden eyes fixed onto her small, shivering form, a look of pure, unyielding possession burning within them.

"This is your new home, my little master," Cassian murmured, his deep voice carrying a smooth, dangerous purr that filled the quiet room. "Everything inside this chamber was chosen by my personal hand. The softest silks, the purest spiritual food, the finest medicines... it is all yours. You will never have to wash another dish. You will never have to smudge your beautiful face with black soot again."

Lin Wan felt a sharp surge of anger break through her terror. She reached into her pocket, her fingers wrapping around the gold silk pouch. With a violent, desperate motion, she pulled the pouch out and threw it straight at his chest.

*Thud.*

The heavy pouch hit his solid chest plate, making a soft clinking sound, before dropping straight onto the white fur carpet between his boots. A few of the bright, high-grade spirit stones spilled out, glowing with a pure, mocking light against the white fur.

"Take your money back!" Lin Wan screamed, her tears finally spilling over her cheeks, her voice cracking with pure emotion. "I don’t want your silks! I don’t want your gold! I don’t want your palace! I bought a slave, Cassian! I bought a mute, broken beast because I felt sorry for him! I didn’t buy a king! If you want to pay your debt, then just let me go! Keeping me locked in this beautiful room doesn’t make you a king... it just makes you a monster who builds prettier cages!"

The room went completely dead silent. The only sound left was the ragged, frantic sound of Lin Wan’s breathing.

*Gasp.*

*Gasp.*

Cassian did not move. He stood perfectly still, his eyes looking down at the gold silk pouch sitting between his boots, before slowly rising to lock onto her face.

The warm, satisfied smile completely faded from his handsome lips, replaced by a cold, hard line that made his jaw look like it was carved from granite.

He stepped forward.

*Thud.*

He didn’t walk fast, but with every step he took, the dark royal pressure inside the room grew exponentially heavier, making it feel like the very air was turning into solid iron. Lin Wan’s knees shook violently, her back hitting the clear crystal glass wall behind her. She had nowhere left to run.

Cassian stopped right in front of her. He was so close she could feel the intense, radiating heat coming off his skin. He reached out his large hand, his long fingers sliding gently under her chin, forcing her head back until her dark eyes were staring straight into his molten golden suns.

"You are right about one thing, little master," Cassian whispered, his voice dropping into a deep, raspy growl that made the black mark on her neck throb with a sharp, melting heat.

"I am a monster. And a monster does not let go of the only beautiful thing he has ever found in the dark."

He leaned down, his nose brushing against her cheek, his sharp white teeth lightly scraping against the sensitive skin of her earlobe, making her entire body shiver with a deep, uncontrollable wave of pleasure and fear.

"You bought me, Lin Wan," he murmured, his breath hot against her skin. "You held my token. You made me yours. And in the world of the royal manticore, when a female takes a male’s leash... she must wear it herself when he rises. You will stay in this room. You will eat my food. You will sleep in my bed. And you will learn to look only at me. Because from this day forth... I am the only master you have left."

He pulled back slightly, his golden eyes staring down into her tear-filled ones with an absolute, terrifying certainty. He reached down, his rough thumb wiping away a single tear from her cheek, before turning around and walking toward the grand bed.

He lay down casually on the crimson silk cushions, his long legs stretching out, his eyes never leaving her face.

Lin Wan slid down against the crystal glass wall, her knees hitting the white fur carpet.

She looked out at the massive, glowing city below her, feeling the heavy, cold weight of the black mark on her neck.

The game was completely over. The hunt was finished. And she was officially locked inside the golden cage of the Sovereign.