Chapter 18: The Weight of the Crown
Inside the royal chambers of the Citadel—a vast, transparent dome located five hundred meters below the surface—the air was thick enough to taste. It was saturated with the mixed pheromones of four high-level mutants and the raw, surging mana of the Divine\_Lineage system.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[GESTATION PROGRESS: 99%]
[STATUS: CRITICAL SYNC. THE FIRST GENERATION IS READY TO ASCEND.]
Han Chen sat upon a throne carved from obsidian and whalebone. He was no longer the thin scavenger from the rusted spires. His skin was bronze, his muscles like iron, and his eyes held the terrifying depth of the abyss.
Before him, his four wives were gathered. They were no longer the women he had first met. The pregnancy had reached its zenith; their bellies were immense, glowing with the brilliance of miniature suns.
The Final Transformation
Lin Mei leaned against a coral pillar, her Vanguard\_Aegis so thick it hummed like a jet engine.
Su Lan sat amidst a garden of glowing sea-flowers that bloomed and died in seconds as her life-aura spiked.
Xara Vance was plugged directly into the city's mainframe, her mind calculating the exact second of birth.
And Mirella floated in a private pool within the chamber, her sapphire scales shimmering as she sang a low, protective dirge.
"It's tonight," Xara rasped, her violet eyes flashing with data streams. "The energy readings... they're breaking the scales, Han. The children... they aren't just taking our DNA. They're taking the mana of the entire district."
Han stood, his Emperor's\_Aura flaring to stabilize the room. He walked toward them, his touch sparking against their skin. "Then we don't fight the change. We embrace it."
The Pre-Birth Ritual
Knowing the physical toll the birth would take, Han initiated a final, deep-sync ritual to fortify their bodies. He led them to the massive, moss-covered dais at the center of the dome.
The intimacy was no longer just about pleasure; it was a survival necessity. Han moved between them with a god-like endurance, his body acting as a lightning rod for the chaotic energy of the four unborn heirs.
He started with Lin Mei, his movements hard and anchoring. As he claimed her, the golden shield around the city flared, warding off the massive krakens that circled the dome in a protective trance. He moved to Su Lan, her soft cries fueling the life-force that kept the wives' hearts beating through the strain.
He took Xara and Mirella simultaneously, his hands marking their bodies as the System roared in his ears. The sounds of their naughty, desperate gasps were drowned out by the literal groaning of the ocean floor as the earth itself reacted to the coming of the Divine Bloodline.
[DING! FINAL SYNC COMPLETE.]
[SYSTEM ALERT: THE QUICKENING HAS BEGUN!]
The First Cry
Suddenly, the golden light in the room turned a blinding white. A shockwave erupted from the center of the dome, shattering the decorative coral statues.
"Han!" Lin Mei screamed, her hand clutching her stomach as a surge of kinetic energy blew out the windows of the lower levels.
The water outside the dome began to swirl into a massive whirlpool. The sea creatures let out a collective roar that could be heard all the way to the mountain peaks.
[NOTIFICATION: BIRTH INITIATED.]
[HEIR 1 (WARRIOR-TYPE): BORN.]
[HEIR 2 (HEALER-TYPE): BORN.]
[HEIR 3 (ORACLE-TYPE): BORN.]
[HEIR 4 (SEA-LORD-TYPE): BORN.]
Han watched in awe as four figures emerged not as helpless infants, but as small, glowing children who already stood and walked. Their eyes were identical to his—pure, piercing gold.
[SYSTEM LEVEL UP! LEVEL 3 ➔ LEVEL 4: 'THE EMPEROR OF THE NEW WORLD']
[REWARD: UNLIMITED_SYSTEM_SHOP_ACCESS | PLANETARY_MAPPING]
Han Chen stood at the center of his family, his wives exhausted but radiant, his four heirs already kneeling before him. The world was flooded, yes. But for the first time in a century, humanity wasn't just surviving. It was reigning.
Progress Report
* Lineage: 4 Heirs (Ages accelerated to 5-year-old equivalents).
* System Level: 4.
* New Power: Han can now sense every human survivor on the planet.