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Tokyo, Nerima Ward — Max's apartment.
Max stepped out of the kitchen, balancing two freshly prepared dishes in his hands.He brought them to the dining table, which was already crowded with plates — half of them Japanese cuisine, the rest distinctly Chinese.
Setting the new dishes down, he turned and made his way upstairs to the master bedroom.
Moka Akashiya was still fast asleep, sprawled out on the bed.Her arms and legs peeked out from under the blanket, her pale skin tinged a faint pink.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Max whispered into her ear.
"Mmm…"
Moka's brows furrowed slightly. Her long lashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes, letting out a soft hum.
"Max…?" she murmured drowsily, still half-asleep.
Then she blinked twice, her gaze sharpening as recognition returned."Max!" she exclaimed happily, sitting up so fast that the blanket slid off her shoulders — not that she seemed to care.
She threw herself straight into his arms, burying her face against his neck, breathing in the familiar scent that always calmed her heart.
"Alright, come on. Breakfast first," Max said with a small smile, holding her gently despite the heat that rose inside him.
"Breakfast? Sure thing," Moka said brightly, nodding with a smile.
After getting up, Max handed her one of his robes to wear. The two of them then went downstairs together.
He grabbed a bottle of tomato juice from the fridge.
"Itadakimasu!"
Sitting across from each other, they began their hearty meal.
Halfway through, Max suddenly froze, eyes flickering.The All-Things Compendium in his mind had triggered a new alert — a new entry had appeared.
"What's wrong?" Moka asked, tilting her head curiously.
Summoning the Compendium, Max watched as the pages turned on their own and a new illustration appeared.
Name: Tohru
Rank: Purple
Description: Someone's dragon maid
Reward: Exclusive Mirage Realm
"Tohru…" Max muttered, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
He didn't claim the reward immediately. Instead, he dismissed the Compendium and looked at Moka with a smile.
"Got a little notification just now — my third familiar might be showing up soon."
"Third familiar…?"
Moka froze for a second. A tiny spark of jealousy flitted through her chest, but she pushed it aside quickly.
"By the way," she asked curiously, "who was your first familiar again?"
"She's called Miko Yotsuya. Has the ability to see spirits — kind of an 'evil eye' thing," Max replied casually."She's human. I already told her about you, Moka. I'll introduce you two next time."
"Alright, sounds good," Moka said with a warm smile.
"And the third one?" she asked, her curiosity rekindled.After all, the first familiar could see ghosts, the second was a vampire — what kind of being would the third be?
Max grinned. "Her name's Tohru. She's… a dragon."
"Wait— a dragon?!"
Moka's eyes went wide, her lips parting in shock. Even Inner Moka stirred in surprise.
In the monster world, dragons were only spoken of in myths — beings so powerful they rivaled the gods themselves.A fully grown dragon possessed strength nearly divine; the most powerful could even surpass the gods.
Yet, no one had ever actually seen one. The dragons had supposedly vanished over a hundred thousand years ago, disappearing alongside the deities.Even that claim was shaky at best — there wasn't a single solid proof they ever existed.
Among monsters, vampires were considered a top-tier race… but even a True Ancestor would struggle to match a mature dragon.And though Moka had that bloodline, she hadn't awakened it yet.
"Yup. A real one," Maxi confirmed with a chuckle at her stunned expression. "When I met Tohru, she was badly hurt. I helped her out — she seemed lost, like she didn't have anywhere to go. So I offered her a place here, as one of my familiars. We'll all live together."
The world was chaotic — and as a certain Uncle Ben once said, with great power comes great responsibility. Max wasn't out to save the world, but if he could give a few beautiful girls a home, wasn't that doing something good?There was no problem with that. Obviously.
"I see…" Moka murmured softly, nodding in understanding.
Then she blinked, eyes sparkling with curiosity again. "But how do you know she's already agreed?"
Max smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say… I have my ways."
"Ohh…" Moka nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer.
"Alright, enough talk. Let's finish eating," Max said with a light chuckle.
"Mm-hm."
After about ten more minutes, dinner was over.
Moka slipped easily into her gentle, considerate mode, insisting that Max rest while she cleaned up the dishes.Before leaving, Max pressed a kiss to her forehead and headed upstairs to his study.
Once there, he set up a protective barrier around the room and opened the All-Things Compendium again.This time, he claimed the reward.
Instantly, a shiver ran through his spirit — a surge of energy flaring from deep within.A point of light appeared in the depths of his soul, glowing brighter and brighter until it burst open like a silent explosion.
It felt like a thunderclap echoing through the universe — the birth of a new world.
A realm began to form.Not like the cosmos of stars and planets, but rather a flat circular land beneath a round sky — a vast continent taking shape in the void.
Information flowed into Max's mind.He immediately understood what this "Exclusive Mirage Realm" was — a concept taken straight from Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy, the ability of the upper dragon Shen, known as the "Invincible Mirage Dragon."
It was an independent subspace — his own private world.
Dropping the study's barrier, Max raised a hand, and before him appeared a strange misty gateway, glowing faintly with multicolored starlight.
The Gate of Mist — entrance to the Mirage Realm.
He stepped through it.
The world blurred for an instant.
When his vision cleared, he found himself standing on barren land — lifeless, not a single blade of grass in sight.
Activating theSanctuary of Silver, Max lifted off the ground, hovering high above.Closing his eyes, he extended his spiritual sense outward.
After a minute, he opened his eyes again, his expression thoughtful.He now had a rough idea of his new realm's size — nearly as large as Earth's entire landmass, about 150 million square kilometers.
For now, it was an empty wasteland. But that could be fixed.
Closing his eyes once more, Max's consciousness entered his inner world.A small glass sphere, the size of a tennis ball, floated before his soul — the Mirage Realm contained within it.
He reached out, grasped it, and began channeling his endless primal energy inside.
The energy scattered like starlight, falling across the desolate world below.
"....."