Author's Note: Desperate plea for readers' cooperation.
The original novel setting was a fantasy world filled with magic and magical beings. Across the vast lands of that world existed powerful creatures, ancient races, and mysterious forces that ordinary humans could only dream of understanding. Dragons, magical beasts, spirits of nature, and other intelligent races lived in different corners of the world, each possessing their own territories and cultures.
However, the story of the novel itself mainly focused on the human world.
More specifically, it took place on the Astrevion Continent, the homeland of humanity where three powerful human-led empires ruled over the land.
For centuries, these three empires had shaped the history, culture, and power balance of the continent. Each empire possessed its own unique strength, its own culture, and its own magical blessing that defined the identity of its people.
The first empire was the Aurelia Solari Empire, which was both the female lead's homeland and the original host's home empire.
Aurelia Solari was often called the Golden Empire, and the name was far from an exaggeration. Travelers who approached its borders for the first time were often struck by how radiant everything seemed beneath the sun. Vast golden wheat fields stretched across fertile plains, rivers shimmered beneath sunlight like flowing glass, and the empire's cities were filled with tall white buildings adorned with golden banners that fluttered proudly in the wind.
Aurelia Solari was blessed with the power of the sun.
Because of this blessing, the people of Aurelia Solari were noticeably stronger during the daytime than they were at night. When the sun was high in the sky, their vitality, magic, and strength naturally became more powerful, making them formidable opponents in battle and highly efficient in their daily lives. Soldiers fought with greater stamina beneath the sunlight, scholars found their minds clearer during daylight hours, and even merchants seemed sharper in their negotiations when the sun shone brightly above them.
The warmth of sunlight was almost like a silent blessing that strengthened them without them even realizing it.
But magic was not the only reason Aurelia Solari flourished.
The empire itself was known across the continent for its elegance, wealth, and culture.Vast trade networks connected its ports to distant lands, and its merchants were famous across the world for their intelligence, patience, and ability to turn opportunity into fortune.
Aurelia Solari was a land filled with cultured, refined, and wealthy people. Its cities were grand and prosperous, its markets were always lively, and its people were widely known for their intelligence when it came to trade and business. The empire possessed abundant natural resources, fertile lands, and thriving commercial routes that connected it to other regions of the world.
Markets in Aurelia's capital city were legendary. Silk from distant kingdoms, enchanted crystals mined from hidden mountains, rare spices from southern islands, magical artifacts recovered from ancient ruins—almost anything could be found within the empire's bustling trade districts.
Because of these advantages, Aurelia Solari had long been considered the wealthiest empire on the Astrevion continent.
Merchants from different lands often traveled great distances just to trade within its markets, while nobles from other kingdoms admired the empire's refined culture, elegant architecture, and sophisticated lifestyle.
At the center of this prosperous empire stood its ruling family.
For centuries, the Maravellion family had been the royal family that ruled the Aurelia Solari Empire.
House Maravellion was famous for producing individuals who embodied elegance, refinement, and nobility. Members of the family often possessed an aura of natural grace that made them stand out even among other nobles. Many people believed that the family carried the very essence of the empire itself within their blood.
One of the most noticeable traits of the Maravellion bloodline was their golden hair, a shade so bright and radiant that it almost looked as if it had been kissed by the sun itself.
Under sunlight, their hair sometimes appeared to glow faintly, giving them a noble and almost divine appearance.
Even rarer than the golden hair were the descendants born with golden eyes.
Only a few appeared in each generation, and those who possessed them were often regarded as individuals with the purest Maravellion bloodline. Their eyes resembled molten gold, shining brightly like small fragments of sunlight captured within their gaze.
Because of this, many people believed that those born with golden eyes carried the strongest connection to the sun's blessing.
The empire's flag perfectly reflected its identity.
Aurelia Solari's flag was a golden banner, upon which was displayed the symbol of the empire — a fierce golden sun radiating powerful rays of light.
The image represented the empire's strength, prosperity, and the blessing that had protected it for generations.
Because of its wealth, elegance, and radiant symbolism, Aurelia Solari was commonly referred to by many as "The Golden Empire."
Yet despite its wealth and cultural sophistication, Aurelia Solari was not the most feared military power on Astrevion.
That distinction belonged to the second great empire.
The second empire of the Astrevion continent was the Valerian Dominion Empire, the homeland of the male lead.
Unlike the Aurelia Solari Empire which was blessed by the sun, the Valerian Dominion was blessed by something entirely different.
They were blessed by darkness itself.
At first glance, outsiders often misunderstood the nature of this power. Darkness magic did not necessarily mean evil or corruption. Instead, it represented a mysterious and powerful form of energy tied to shadows, concealment, manipulation of space, and the quiet control of unseen forces.
The people of the Valerian Dominion possessed an unparalleled ability to manipulate dark energy, making their magical abilities extremely unique and powerful. Their magic often manifested through shadows, concealment, and subtle manipulation of unseen forces.
However, the true strength of the Valerian Dominion did not lie solely in their magic.
It lay in their minds.
The empire was widely known for its strategic brilliance and its genius-led society. Many of the greatest engineers, scholars, and war strategists on the continent came from the Valerian Dominion. Their academies produced some of the brightest minds in the human world, and their inventions and military technologies were often far ahead of their time.
War machines developed in Valerian workshops were famous for their efficiency. Fortifications designed by Valerian engineers could withstand sieges that would crumble lesser defenses. And when it came to military strategy, few nations could rival the Dominion's tactical brilliance.
When it came to warfare, the Valerian Dominion preferred strategy over brute strength.
Battles were carefully calculated, movements were precisely planned, and victory was often achieved through intelligence rather than sheer numbers.
It was not unusual for a Valerian strategist to determine the outcome of a battle before the first sword was even drawn.
Because of this, the empire had developed a terrifying reputation on the battlefield.
Many commanders believed that facing the Valerian Dominion meant fighting an enemy who had already predicted your next move before you even made it.
The empire had also been ruled by the same royal family for centuries.
The Daelvorn royal family.
House Daelvorn was widely known for producing sharp commanders, brilliant tacticians, and extraordinary war leaders. Members of the family possessed a natural talent for military strategy, and many of them had proven capable of determining the outcome of a battlefield simply through careful planning.
It was often said that a Daelvorn commander could win a war without even stepping onto the battlefield.
By the time their armies arrived, the battle had already been decided.
Their decisions were rarely emotional.
Their strategies rarely failed.
And their victories often came through patience rather than overwhelming force.
The Valerian Dominion's flag reflected their martial and strategic nature.
It was a dark blue banner, symbolizing depth and mystery, with the image of dual swords crossed over a shield, the symbol of their empire and the representation of both offense and defense.
Unlike Aurelia Solari's radiant sun banner, the Valerian flag carried a quieter, colder authority.
It was the banner of an empire that conquered not through noise, but through inevitability.
Yet even the disciplined armies of the Valerian Dominion were not considered the most physically fearsome warriors of Astrevion.
That title belonged to the third empire.
The third and final empire that ruled the Astrevion continent was the Khartos Vyrn Empire.
If Aurelia Solari represented wealth and culture, and the Valerian Dominion represented intellect and strategy, then Khartos Vyrn represented something far more primal.
Strength.
The empire was often described as the land of warriors.
This was the empire that the original host had been married into in the novel's original storyline.
Unlike the other two empires, Khartos Vyrn was a land defined by strength and battle.
It was a fierce warrior empire where nearly every citizen possessed the body of a fighter and the heart of a warrior.
The people of Khartos Vyrn were often described as being built like bulls and fierce like lions. Strength was a natural part of their identity, and physical combat was deeply woven into their culture.
In Khartos Vyrn, physical strength was not merely admired.
It was the foundation of society itself.
They were also known as the Children of Nature.
The empire had been blessed by the Mother of Nature, granting its people a natural affinity with elemental magic. Many of them could manipulate elements such as fire, wind, water, and earth, making them extremely dangerous opponents in battle.
But the most defining aspect of Khartos Vyrn society was their belief that strength determined everything.
In their empire, gender held no importance.
Both men and women were treated equally in battle and leadership. As long as a person was strong enough, they could achieve whatever they desired.
Because of this, Khartos Vyrn held the highest number of female emperors in the history of the continent.
Their ruling family was the Raghurun royal family.
For centuries, the Raghurun family had maintained their position as rulers not through inheritance alone, but through strength.
Unlike the hereditary systems of other empires, leadership in Khartos Vyrn was constantly tested.
Before someone could officially become crown prince, they had to prove themselves worthy.
The prince would be publicly challenged by warriors of the empire, and only after defeating them would he be acknowledged as the future emperor.
Even after becoming emperor, the position was never completely secure.
Any warrior strong enough could challenge the emperor for the throne at any time.
Only the strongest individual was considered worthy of ruling the empire.
Respect in Khartos Vyrn was earned through strength, not status.
It was a brutal system.
But it ensured that Khartos Vyrn was always led by warriors capable of commanding respect.
The empire's symbol reflected this fierce identity.
Their emblem was a dragon's head, representing power, battle, and dominance.
Their flag was a dark red banner, the color of blood and war, bearing the image of the dragon head proudly at its center.
Despite the vast differences between their cultures and philosophies, these three empires had managed to maintain a delicate balance for centuries.
Each empire possessed a strength the others lacked.
Their cultures were wildly different.
Their values sometimes clashed.
Yet they understood one simple truth.
Outside forces threatened humanity as a whole.
Beyond Astrevion's borders existed powerful factions that viewed humans as resources rather than equals. Slave traders, hostile magical races, and ancient enemies occasionally attempted to invade the continent in hopes of conquering human lands.
Whenever these outside forces attempted to threaten humanity, the three empires worked together.
Each empire contributed its unique strength.
The Aurelia Solari Empire provided the military logistics and resources needed to sustain large-scale wars.
The Valerian Dominion provided strategy and command, directing the flow of battles with calculated precision.
And the Khartos Vyrn Empire provided the warriors who charged into the battlefield and painted it with the blood of their enemies.
For generations, this cooperation had allowed humanity on the Astrevion continent to survive and thrive.
No single empire could dominate the others.
No outside force could defeat them united.
It was a fragile equilibrium built on mutual benefit and careful diplomacy.
Peace and balance had been maintained for centuries.
Until one incident shattered everything.