Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

'Why am I the sole prisoner of fate? Why do I persist on a path that has only led to my downfall?' he thought before Asura began whispering to himself, his voice tinged with self-doubt. "If fate controls my actions, then what worth do my efforts possess?"

His chest had become increasingly stifled over the last few days or maybe weeks. Asura could not figure out the reason behind this feeling of unease. He thought back to the tower and everything that happened since and began feeling it related to his soul, the shards and them subtly forcing him to do things or act a certain way.

'I don't wish to do this anymore. What worth is a minor power-up if I lose my freedom?'

He felt frustrated and didn't know how to resolve this dilemma. It was even more uncomfortable the closer he got to the designated time. The mere thought of the unknown 'event' made him sick.

[Evening Asura! How are you~ my mother scolded me today and told me not to meet you anymore!]

[So you instantly speak to me and are about to arrange a meeting, right?]

[Hehehe~ you know me too well. Can you come tomorrow? I want to beat that big guy together!]

[Sure, but he's Stage Seven, you know?]

[Nn! Let's go together!]

[Sure, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon]

[Okay! Don't be late!]

The familiar voice rang through his mind, relaxing Asura slightly. She seemed to be like a ray of sunshine in his current dark mindset.

"Celine doesn't have a technical relation to those past lives..."

Asura felt he was on the verge of a revelation and pondered on it for a moment, looking up at the ceiling.

"Perhaps the souls in the shards were the only ones controlling me all along...?"

'They merely prompted me at the right time, then adjusted their message to suit my mental state at that moment?'

He knew they gave him significant benefits; however, before they started getting involved, Asura was growing rapidly on his own.

There was a growing feeling he no longer needed them. Rather, his doubt towards these shards being on 'his' side continued to shrink when he considered the realistic goal of their experiment was to summon a divine being or revive him using Asura's body.

'Those shards. What if they are fakes, designed to turn my mind away from being alert? Since they could force me to reincarnate several times against my will, what if the upper realm and cult controlled and changed each of these lifetimes as they wished?'

Asura chuckled as he considered it from a different perspective.

"My feeling of gratitude to Azoth could also be their plans—why else would only one soul call out to me? Would Azoth really sacrifice himself when the chance to meet Muru and his beloved Philis once again existed? NEVER!"

There was something wrong, but right now, Asura could only speculate about it. The only way he could discern the truth would be to get access to his previous soul's memories.

"My desires from previous lives? Nonsense. I live for the women who exist now!"

Asura grabbed his glass of wine while leaning over the backrest of his sofa, sipping the fruity wine with a hint of dark chocolate and cedarwood. He realised that between entering the tower of Death, his will and path were being hindered and guided by the appearance of these soul shards.

"I thought they were a guide, but although that is true, they only divert my path and confuse me."

Asura felt relieved after coming to this realisation.

"I feel so much lighter... Perhaps it has been clouding me for a long time..."

His desire to cut off the shards and prevent them from guiding his actions increased.

The sole purpose of this exercise was to understand better how they manipulated him from the beginning.

'Though I need another one of them to appear, otherwise I cannot touch that domain where they all existed.'

There wasn't much change, but from his moment of enlightenment, Asura made a choice that would change his fate forever—rather, he would take back the reins guiding him and decide his future.

"Asura, are you alright?" The deep voice of Verana echoed as she stood at the door with another bottle of wine, dressed in long black stockings with a flowing black dress, her lovely raven hair tied up in a high ponytail.

"Hmm?"

She blinked, rubbing her eyes slowly as she entered the room while standing next to the sofa.

"You seem a little different, more focused."

Asura smirked as he leaned over to the other side, pouring wine into a clean glass before offering it to her.

"More focused, am I?"

"Oh? Are you alright? You really seem different!" Verana grasped his fingers as she took the glass of wine from him. "Is it something to do with us?"

"Nonsense."

Asura shook his head as he laughed and ruffled her hair, knowing exactly what she meant.

"I feel great, wonderful," he exclaimed. "Today is just a good day. Tomorrow will be even better!"

"Sure you do," Verana purred while snuggling close to Asura before pressing her lips to his. Discover stories on m-vl-em,pyr

The sweet taste of the blackberry and dark fruits with a hint of tobacco-flavoured wine filled his mouth, along with the serpent's tongue from his cute wife, Verana.

"Mmm... you taste quite good today..." Asura mused in between breaths as their lips parted for a moment, with Verana pushing him onto the sofa, his hand caressing her heavy breasts that leaned over him before tracing her curves slowly.

"Why don't we savour the wine a little longer..."

A deep purr escaped his throat as his hand tugged on her shoulders, pulling her into his embrace.

"Hmm, if that's what you want," she said, giving him a light peck on his lips.

The feeling of her supple skin under his fingertips made him crave Verana's touch. Their breaths were deep as Verana leaned in and brushed her soft cheek against his, her breath brushing against his ear.

"Now, I'm thirsty for something thicker."

She reached down, her lips parting with a predatory grin before reaching down.

"Perhaps we should save some of the wine for the end?"

"No objections."

Asura smiled as he enjoyed Verana's tender care as her head lingered between his thighs while gazing up at him with her sexy scarlet eyes. He watched her long tongue slide over her lips and leaned back into the sofa with a pleasant face.

"That's my boy... Hmmm, yes..."

She whispered to herself as she used her hands to pleasure Asura's shaft, her wet tongue licking his manhood affectionately.

'Those souls... I will break their control and seize everything they offer!'

Asura glanced at Verana as she indulged in the pleasures of his body; when the warmth of Verana's mouth wrapped around him, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the pleasure beyond any of his woman because Verana knew him like the back of her hand.

The familiar wet slurping sound filled the room with a few brief gags as Asura enjoyed the gift his lovely wife offered. Her scarlet eyes peered up at him as her head covered his crotch.

Half an hour later, the couple lay next to one another in bed. Asura ran his hands over Verana's breasts in the dark and stared into the air while he heard her purrs from his caress.

"Nnn..."

She nibbled at his fingers and rolled over to her side, her back facing Asura, her head resting on the pillow.

"Today was so thick. I almost drowned~ such an energetic husband."

"It's because you were the one doing it."

"Nn~ so sweet. I hope I could remove your worries even a little..."

Asura chuckled as he slowly slid his hands down her slender hips, caressing her smooth and flawless skin as he pulled her close.

"Verana, I love you."

"I know..." She leaned over and kissed his forehead gently before resting her head on the pillow. But I love you more," she whispered before falling into a deep, But I love you more," she whispered, smiling, while Asura could only hold her in his arms until the morning came.

Asura awoke before Verana as the sun's rays pierced through the windows in the early morning.

He rose from the bed with a content smile and gazed at her adorable sleeping face as she dreamed of a new day.

"To avoid the future where those souls control my path, I must become stronger."

Asura told the princess he would enter the special realm in the afternoon; however, in reality, he entered at five in the morning.

With a black sword in his right hand and the beautiful blue sword of ice in his left, he stood atop a cliff watching the huge village of goblins down below, at least two hundred Stage Fives and fifty Stage Six enemies.

"Forgive me—you are nothing but the sustenance for me to become the strongest existence."

"Die."

The sharp spears shot down towards the unsuspecting monsters, and the deep hum of the wind filled the plains before a loud boom resounded.

Dozens of goblins screamed in terror as the ice spikes impaled them, massacring over fifty monsters while Asura himself lept off the cliff with his huge wings, fluttering to increase his speed.

"Not enough, I need more power..."

He stood in the sky, holding the twin swords in each hand before sweeping them rapidly towards the ground. His lips curled into a feral grin as the goblin corpses disintegrated into charcoal and ashes, their magic and life force drifting towards his body.

"Not enough—I need more!"

The bright light in Asura's eyes lit up as he plunged towards the goblins at a frightening speed. The black sword swung in a wide arc, bisecting five goblins, while the ice sword drew a blue trail as it neared another, piercing through its heart.

"Haha! Is that all you have?! Not even the weakest of my wives could lose to you!"

His heart raced, killing the stage five goblins without trouble because of his body and its current level of tempering. A body created to house a divine being, how could it lose to a low-grade monster?