The office looked like something out of a Science Fiction movie, where technology shaped every detail of the place. The desks, made of a translucent material that emitted a soft blue light, floated a few centimeters above the floor, supported by invisible magnetic fields. Interactive surfaces responding to touch and gestures with floating holograms that displayed graphs, data, and interfaces in three dimensions. The walls were huge digital panels, alternating between dynamic landscapes and project information in real time. An Artificial Intelligence System monitored the environment, adjusting the light and sound according to each person’s preference. Bioluminescent plants decorated the space, emitting a soft glow that complemented the technological design. Silent drones glided through the air, delivering documents and small equipment. In the center of the room, a large holographic table projected interactive maps and diagrams used in collaborative meetings. Wires and cables were non-existent as all the Energy flowed through wireless systems. In the middle of this space, sitting on a huge chair, was a 4.70-meter tall woman with long golden hair, Draconic eyes, and Dragon horns. She was wearing a military uniform that enhanced her beauty and displayed the rank she was temporarily occupying now. Hearing someone knocking on the door, Sasha spoke. "Come in." "Commander, we have a small problem..." Taking her eyes off the reports of everything that was happening in The Empire, Sasha looked at her smaller subordinate. "...What happened?" "Umm... I think the Commander should see for herself." The subordinate sent the images of the latest crime scene that was reported and sent them to his superior. A holographic screen appeared in front of Sasha, and on this screen, it showed several deaths occurring throughout The Empire’s territory. These bloody deaths, these patterns, Sasha had seen them many times in the past. ’Yes, it’s definitely Darling. Is he on a nightly stroll?’ "And? What’s the problem?" "We’re not able to solve this case..." Then, the subordinate began to explain the particulars of this case. ’Of course, you’re not. Victor can be so sneaky that he would make Nyx look like a complete amateur.’ Sasha thought. The Empire’s technology, the clones, and all the resources that were available could solve any type of case if The Empire decided to do so. Even a Goddess of Concealment like Nyx could still be caught if she made mistakes. They were just that efficient. The problem was not The Empire but rather that the opponent they were facing was too strong. ’Which is not an excuse. We need to be even more efficient. We should be able to at least find a trace of Victor... I will talk to Darling later about this.’ Even if they were pushed to maximum efficiency, they still wouldn’t be able to catch Victor. The man could distort Reality, manipulate Dreams and Madness, and combine all his Divinities easily, so it was practically impossible to catch him if he didn’t want to be caught. Listening carefully to what her subordinate was saying, she nodded. ’Logic is solid here. If it were any other Being, they would have easily been arrested.’ When the subordinate finished explaining everything, Sasha opened the Administration panel and saw the clones that were in charge of this case, and due to the number of deaths, the case rose to priority number 1. ’The previous explosion and these actions of Darling... Just what is he doing?’ Thinking a little about her Husband’s thought process, she nodded. ’He’s just having fun and probably being efficient on this little nighttime outing of his.’ Seeing the report of the previous explosion and the familiar bodies that looked like her Husband’s friends, she nodded internally as well. ’Yes, he’s covering for his friends.’ With how long she had known Victor, it was very easy to see his movements with little things like that. Turning off the extra screens, Sasha went back to see what her Sisters were doing and spoke to her subordinate: "Recall all personnel. These deaths were caused by an Agent of The Empire. Someone will be sent to clean it up soon." She ordered. ’…Agent of the Empire? But that’s not protocol… When Special Agents of The Empire are released onto civilian soil, a representative of them will come to the headquarters and notify the Commander so that the area around the attack can be completely sealed off, so we don’t waste resources.’ The subordinate thought. The Empire was very efficient. When an order from above was given, The Empire worked like an efficient machine to carry out the order with maximum efficiency. Seeing such mistakes was beyond strange, but he promptly decided not to say it. After all, who would question their God and Commander? "Yes, Commander." "..." Sasha, reading her subordinate’s thoughts, couldn’t help but grumble internally. ’We are so efficient that sometimes it’s even more troublesome to act carefree than to be efficient.’ She sighed. ... A woman the same height as Sasha walked towards the morgue. Unlike Sasha, she was wearing her Divine Raiment, which consisted of a tight white dress with edges made of stardust that, wherever she passed, slightly illuminated the area. This was one of her favorite dresses, and just like her Sisters, she had a lot of them. Wherever she went, people greeted her and bowed their heads slightly in respect. Entering the morgue, the woman who was working spoke: "Another body has appeared-..." She stopped speaking mid-sentence and almost bit her tongue. She quickly reacted like the others, but unlike them, she greeted her. "Goddess Leona." If the Goddess had some sort of identification and Title, she would have called her that way. Hierarchy was important. But apparently, she was here in a civilian capacity, and because of that, she only greeted her with her Title of Goddess. Even as a civilian, her status was higher than everyone else in this building. After all, she was not only one of the Highest-Ranking Goddesses in the Pantheon but also one of The Emperor’s Wives. In the Dragon Nest Pantheon, there was a clear difference between the normal Gods and the Dragon Gods. It can be said that the normal Gods are like all the other Races within The Empire, with only a select few having an important position, like the Goddess of Luck, for example. The Dragon Gods, on the other hand, were the Highest-Ranking Gods because they were directly related to The Emperor. They were the ones who created the Pantheon together with The Emperor, and they were usually easily distinguished by their classic characteristics. With an imposing height and Draconic features, usually being women and being related in some way to The Emperor, the most common thought was that all Female Dragon Goddesses were The Emperor’s Wives. So far, the only male Dragon God that had been seen was The Emperor himself, and it would probably continue like that for a long time… Or until The Emperor has male children, at least. Hearing the woman’s thoughts, Leona shook her head internally in denial. ’Such a future will never happen since Victor is too possessive to have male children. That is his nature, and that nature greatly influenced his Progenitor side. It is no wonder that all my children are women.’ "Where are the bodies of the three men who caused the disturbance in The Empire?" "This way, Goddess Leona." Walking towards three bodies, Leona found them covered like a mummy with a material that looked like cloth but was actually a tool used to isolate any and all possible poisons and bacteria within the body. The bodies themselves were also in a type of coffin made of a very resistant material. "Should I open the contents?" "It’s not necessary." Leona’s eyes flashed slightly and her sight easily passed through the isolation. ’Pfft, he’s uglier than Edward. Darling definitely did this on purpose. Should I show him this? Make a joke about twins?’ Leona’s face didn’t change on the outside, but on the inside, she was acting like she always did. After hearing what happened and reading the report, she was curious to see her brother’s ’copy’, but with just one look, she could see that this body didn’t have any Werewolf Genes. It was a normal Human body. "What cleaning procedure will be applied to these bodies?" "High temperature cremation so that everything is eliminated, even the ashes." "I see." Leona nodded. For a moment, she thought about ordering her to speed up the cremation process. After all, even though she laughed internally and made a joke about it, it was irritating to see a body that looked like her brother in a dead state. However, she realized that she had no authority to do so now because she was not in her official position but was here as a Civilian. Of course, as The Emperor’s Wife, she could order the woman to do it, which she would like to do, but she did not. There were several reasons for this, but the main one was not to create a precedent of ’abuse’ of power. Outside of their Personal World, everyone needed to behave as examples to be followed and obey the Rules of The Empire. Reputation may seem insignificant to someone with as much Power as they had, but in the grand scheme of things, reputation and image were very important. The image of beautiful, strong, noble, and loyal Goddesses inspired other women to follow the same steps and would increase the followers of their own Religion. The image of a strict, strong, yet benevolent Emperor who would reward your efforts and work that is done well will inspire more loyalty in all Citizens of The Empire. Leona looked at the small woman and spoke: "Thank you for your time." "N-No, I thank you for helping to serve The Empire." The woman stuttered and replied confusedly, she had never expected such words from the Goddess. Leona chuckled internally, sensing the confusion in the woman’s words, but did not express it externally. She turned around and then disappeared from the place. Heaving a long sigh of relief, the woman commented: "That was intense... So that was one of the main Goddesses, huh." Out of curiosity, she opened her personal computer and researched about the Dragon Gods of The Empire, specifically the Goddess Leona. An image appeared on her retina showing Leona’s description along with images of the woman. "Goddess of Animals, Wildlife, Wolves, and a Minor Goddess of Home and Nature..." "She didn’t seem wild to me... Don’t judge a book by its cover, huh?" "Looking at these descriptions, I see that most Dragon Gods have some level of Divinity with Nature... Is it because of their nature as True Dragons?" Before she realized it, the woman found herself caught up in the mysticism about the Dragon’s Nest Pantheon and began to read even more about each of them. When she was finished reading about the 7th Goddess, she received an automatic message from the Blood God Religion. Reading the message, she saw: "Are you interested in learning more closely about the lives of the Gods? Their deeds? Their relationships? Their strengths? Look for the nearest Shrine, and you will be very well attended." Next, photos and videos of the Grand Shrines were shown, along with the location of the Shrine and the nearest Temples. "...Maybe I should go on my next break." She muttered to herself, she would not deny her curiosity. And that was how The Empire gained another loyalist. It was in situations like this that all the protocols that Victor created were very important. The Emperor knew very well the psyche of Mortals and Gods. .... Edited By: DaV0 2138, IsUnavailable If you want to support me so that I can pay artists to illustrate the characters in my novel, visit my pa treon: Pa treon.com/VictorWeismann More characters images in: Like it? Add to library! Don’t forget to vote to support the book if you like it.