Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System.-Chapter 259: How it came to be...

'That… is what I saw during my time in the dream. That was the fate of the Dragon Monarch, our husband,' Seraphina spoke, seated at the side of the bed with a sad look on her face while staring at the ground.

Ishtar was a bit shocked by what she had just heard. In just under a few seconds, Seraphina had told her everything she saw after she was corrupted by the dark mana.

From how the Dragon Monarch was born, to how Yahoshi escaped to another world she had created to nurture Dorian and bring him back to the real world, where she could then proceed to make him the ruler of both the godly realm and the mortal realm.

Of course, that was not all. She also proceeded to explain other matters, which included everything that Yelena did while in the other world.

How she would often come back to the real world and make deals with women, Dorian's current wives, and transfer her essence into them in the process.

It was long, but every word Seraphina explained stuck in Ishtar's mind. One could say she was almost going insane, at least teetering at the edge of it.

Including how Yelena planned to kill them all so she could get her essence back, all was understood by her. Grabbing the side of her face, the first thing Ishtar did was tighten her grip in anger.

"That bitch played me. I should have suspected something was wrong when she promised me grand entertainment before I met my husband for the first time. So this was her plan… to implant me with a disgusting piece of her."

Seraphina followed suit with a calmer, yet sadder voice. "I am afraid we all fell for it. I was the biggest fool of all for keeping it to myself. I did not want anyone to worry about it. I figured I could do more research on it and only let you guys know when I had thought of a solution."

Silence settled for a while. Then Ishtar looked at her with dead eyes.

"You understand what this means, right?" she began slowly. "That witch is still a threat. But before she is a threat to this world, she is a threat to our husband. I refuse to leave her in the hands of the man I love. And I refuse to be erased from the world he is a part of as well. Do you understand me, Seraphina… we have to fight back—"

A sudden knock on the door drew their attention.

They both stared at each other, waiting to see who would make their way to the door first. For some reason, they felt paranoid about it, as though the person standing at the other side of the door might be a threat.

After all, it was not the first time a witch had snuck into the mansion.

And it sure as hell couldn't be Maria since she was fast asleep in the other room, fatigued from her pregnancy.

Eventually, Seraphina gathered enough courage to walk towards the door. Upon getting there, she grabbed the doorknob and slowly twisted it before opening the door.

To her surprise and relief, there was no threat waiting for her behind the door, only a maid who looked way too nervous for her own good.

"Is everything okay?" Seraphina asked.

The maid gathered herself, then replied, "Lord Dorian has made his way back into the mansion, but he came with Lady Ciel, and she was holding him in her arms, calling for you to save his life."

Seraphina's eyes widened in shock.

She could actually feel it; Dorian's life was indeed in danger. And just as she could feel it, the same applied to Ishtar as well.

Immediately, both of them charged out of the room to check up on their husband.

…

It was just as the maid said. Ciel did bring Dorian back to the mansion, bruised and unconscious.

Thanks to Seraphina's skills, they were able to get him into the room, and she was able to run some tests on him just to make sure he was okay and not battling for his life.

Then she came out of the room, her expression grave but composed, her previous panic replaced by a focused determination.

Ishtar and Ciel immediately converged on her.

"What is it, Seraphina? Is he going to be alright?" Ciel asked, her voice laced with deep anxiety.

Seraphina held up a calming hand. "He is stable. The immediate physical wounds are severe, but they are not the primary danger." She looked between the two worried wives.

"Dorian is not dead, nor is he merely unconscious. He is trapped in a dream world, a deep, complex illusion, similar in nature to the one I experienced when I was afflicted by the dark mana." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Ishtar's eyes narrowed. "A dream? Is this Yelena's doing?"

"I suspect so," Seraphina confirmed with a nod. "However, the dark mana I sensed on him is… different. It seems to be trying to consume his consciousness, possibly forcing him into a state of permanent slumber or worse, molding him into something else."

Ciel's hands clenched into fists. "Then what do we do? Leaving him like that is not an option!"

"For now, we must. I'm sorry, but it is truly the only way." Seraphina insisted. "Any attempt to forcefully pull him out could shatter his mind. When I was in that state, I had to find my own way out. We need to leave him to fight this battle in his mind. We must trust in his strength, and for now, monitor his physical state while we search for a way to break this enchantment from the outside."

Ishtar let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Trust? Trust is what allowed that parasitic bitch to infect us and nearly destroy my husband! I refuse to sit by and wait. If she is behind this, she will pay dearly."

Ciel nodded vehemently in agreement. "She has gone too far. First, she poisons us, then she nearly kills him. That witch has overstayed her welcome on this plane of existence. When Dorian is safe, I will personally tear her essence from this world."

Seraphina's expression softened momentarily, acknowledging their shared rage.

"Your anger is justified, and I share it. Yelena is a cancer on our lives and on this world. I know that better than anyone. We will find her and defend ourselves. But first, Lord Dorian must be our priority. We can't afford to be careless with this."

At least to them, in that moment, that was the best course of action.

Unbeknownst to them, Dorian was fully awake the entire time.

And it was not just that.

He had all his memories with him, both from his current life and all the past lives he had lived as a god.

He could hear their voices, feeling the weight of their concern while his mind anchored itself to his newfound divinity.

'I am back?' he thought, the resonance of his own voice echoing within the vast expanse of his soul.

The End of Book 1.