The Matron was sealed.
But the shrine was breathing again.
It started as a whisper.
Not in my ear. In my bones.
A pulse, soft and ancient, thrummed through the air like a heartbeat echoing through stone. The kind of rhythm you feel before you hear. The kind that doesn't come from this world.
[Warning: Dormant Shrine Activity Detected]
[Matron-Bound Signature Reawakening]
I froze outside the garden wall. I'd only come out for air—or maybe guilt. After the Queen's near-collar threat, the palace had felt like it was holding its breath. I was holding mine too.
Then the pulse came again.
The Matron's shrine was supposed to be dormant. After our climax, after the soul-sync, the system had locked the gates and dimmed the lights.
But now?
Now it was glowing again.
I crossed the palace perimeter, slipping past guards, stepping into the overgrown courtyard like a trespasser in my own sin.
The shrine's stone mouth was open.
The air shimmered with golden static.
[Anomaly: Shrine Veil Flickering]
[Matron Anchor Status: Unstable – Emotional Distress Detected]
I stepped inside.
No vines. No ash. No divine mist.
Just her scent. And her voice—barely there.
Kaius…
I dropped to one knee without thinking.
"Matron?"
Nothing.
Then a flicker — her silhouette etched in golden shadow behind the altar. Not real. Not physical. But present.
Her eyes didn't open. But her voice trembled through my system like broken light.
You broke the chain. The bond is real. But they know now…
"Who?" I asked. "The Watchers?"
No… worse. The ones who made them.
She faded. Flickered.
"Wait," I whispered. My hand reached out — useless. She wasn't real. Not like before.
But something in me still thought I could pull her back with willpower and worship alone.
"Don't fade," I said.
The system responded with static.
She blinked once.
I'll find you, I promised..
Even if I have to fuse the whole damn shrine.
[Threadweave Sync Attempt Detected – Matron Anchor Conflict Unresolved]
[Warning: Unauthorized shrine-fusion logic rejected by divine schema]
A flicker of pain shot down my spine.
Not physical. Systemic.
The Matron gasped — or maybe I did. Her silhouette cracked like it was fracturing under divine pressure.
"No," I hissed. "Don't disappear on me. Not now."
She opened her mouth to speak. But no sound came.
The system silenced her.
Like she'd never been real.
[System Alert: Divine Interference Rising – Shrine Synchronization Rejected]
[Anchor Fading – Thread Pulse Pending Recapture]
I clenched my fists.
She was trying to warn me—and the system was trying to erase it.
[New Quest Unlocked – Reforge the Matron's Anchor]
(Find the remaining Shrine Glyphs and stabilize her echo before divine nullification completes.)
Outside, the air snapped.
A chime. A footstep.
Then a voice—smooth, masculine, and unfamiliar.
"Interesting," it said. "You're not glowing like a hero. And yet you're here."
I turned slowly.
White cloak. Polished armor. Holy sigil on the chest.
One of the summoned.
[System Ping Detected – Heroic-Class Presence Logged: Holy Swordbearer – S-Rank]
[Threadweave Instability: Low]
[Reclassification Threat: High]
[System Suggestion: Lie Like Hell]
Thanks, system. Very helpful. Now if you could also hide the shrine smell, the MILF stains on my aura, and the fact I just soul-synced with a ghost-goddess in heat, that'd be great
He smiled. Not friendly.
Then he spoke.
"I've been sent to audit divine anomalies in the capital."
His eyes flicked to the shrine behind me.
"Care to explain what you are?"
I didn't answer. Because what do you say to a walking golden retriever in plate mail?
He had the jawline of a comic book protagonist and the confidence of someone whose system actually gave a damn about consent. [S-Rank, huh?] My system whispered nothing. It was either sulking or buffering.
I did what any responsible MILF hunter would do.
I stalled.
I wasn't ready for another hero.
Not now. Not here. Not while I still reeked of forbidden class and MILF shrine sex.
His smile widened. Confident. Controlled.
Mine didn't.
"I'm just… meditating," I said, too slowly. "On the sins of our ancestors."
His eyes narrowed.
The system chimed again.
[Lie Registered – Deception Skill Not Found]
[Consider Fusing Something That Isn't Horny]
Thanks, system.
Really helpful right now.
Was it just me, or had the system been getting snarkier lately?
First sarcasm. Then jokes. Now suggestions that didn't involve MILFs moaning on altars.
I squinted at the floating text like it might grow eyes.
[Interface Note: Emotional Logic Routing — Unstable]
Yep. Definitely not just me.
Was the system evolving?
Or getting corrupted by proximity?
...Or worse — enjoying this.
What a life the Matron was fading.
This other summoned A hole found me.
Think Kaius Think.
I needed to lie — fast.
And if that didn't work?
I'd seduce, stall, or stab my way out of it. In that order.
[SYSTEM LOG – CHAPTER END]
Kaius Vale – Lv. 11
Class:MILF Hunter (SSS-Rank – Forbidden Lineage)
Tree Path:Matronbound → Combat-Bound (Widow's Path)
Titles:
– Keeper of the Forgotten Queen
– Battle-Bound Consort
Base Stats:
STR: 8
END: 6
CHA: 11
WIL: 8
INT: 6
AGI: 6
New Quest Unlocked:
– Reforge the Matron's Anchor – Active
Locate remaining shrine glyphs. Stabilize Matron echo before divine purge completes.
Quest Updates:
– Keep the Watchers Blind – Escalated
– Prove Your Loyalty to the Crown – Ongoing
Bonded MILFs:
– Sealed Matron – Claimed (100% – Spirit-Consummated)
– Queen Celestia Velmira – Intimate (92%)
– Seraphine Dawnhart – Claimed (100% – Combat-Consummated)
– Duchess Talraine – Bond Route Seeded (6%)
Current Skills:
– Fertility Favor (Passive)
– Matriarch's Blessing (Passive)
– Royal Presence Lv.1 (Passive)
– Body Language Mastery Lv.1 (Passive)
– Sanctified Endurance Lv.1 (Passive)
– Spirit Embrace Lv.1 (Passive)
– Soul-Linked Touch Lv.1 (Passive)
– Wombfire Resonance Lv.1 (Passive)
– Widow's Wrath Lv. MAX (Passive)
– MILFflare Slash Lv.1 (Active)
– Obsidian Submission Lv.1 (Passive)
Core Traits:
– MILF Affinity Lv.1 (Hidden)
– Divine Anchor (1/3)– Submission Link (Active)
System Alerts:
– Threadweave Chamber Stable (Monitoring Shrine-Fusion Conflict)
– Shrine Synchronization Unstable – Matron Anchor Conflict Active
– Matron Anchor Instability Logged – Sync Incomplete
– Shrine Sync Blocked by Divine Schema – Fusion Attempt Logged
– Heroic-Class System Crosslink Detected – Threadweave Reactivity Spiking
– Threat Tag Added: Holy Swordbearer (S-Rank – Audit Class)
Exposure:53%
Matron echo triggered divine pulse. Hero-class thread nearby.
System integrity compromised.