Chapter 77 (Bonus chapter for the 200 powerstones)

{A/N: I'm overwhelmed, I can't do the bonus chapters for all of my novels. I tried increasing the number from 50 to 100, but this led to readers throwing more power stones at me. With over 600 combined powerstones from all of my current novels, I sadly can't keep my promises. 

So, the new promise would be simple. I'm offering 2 bonus chapters per week to only 2 out of my 5 novels. The first 2 novels to reach 100 powerstones would get an extra-long chapter. Just let me know when a novel reaches 100 power stones, since I might lose track of the first two.}

"Ashborn!" Ember burst into the mansion, only to find Ashborn locked in a kiss with Wonder Woman, his hands shamelessly roaming her body. Specifically, her ass, which seemed to absorb his palms with each squeeze. But the moment Ember's voice echoed through the room, both Ashborn and Wonder Woman jolted apart in shock.

They should have been alone. After Raven and Supergirl had left, only Wonder Woman and Ashborn remained behind to repair the damage to the mansion. So when someone suddenly appeared mid-repair, catching them in the act of hard work, neither of them was prepared.

"Rude. Don't just appear out of nowhere like that," Ashborn said casually. "Anyway, Wonder Woman, your eyes are perfectly fine—there's nothing wrong with them."

Ember, who had been moments away from exploding, froze mid-outburst, her expression twisting in disbelief. She wasn't some ordinary human—she could clearly tell Ashborn hadn't been examining Wonder Woman's eyes. He had been kissing her.

"And about your mouth," Ashborn continued, "I ran the most thorough scan I could and…"

He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence as Ember slowly raised her palm, aiming it directly at Wonder Woman.

"Be gone," Ember said coldly.

Wonder Woman's eyes widened just as flames erupted from Ember—flames so hot they burned through spacetime itself, leaving behind absolute nothingness. She didn't even have time to react. Her shadow shifted, trying to protect her, swallowing her whole, only for Ember's flames to pierce straight through it without resistance.

Ember's eyes sharpened, deadly and glowing. She turned her gaze to Ashborn, locking onto his shadow, where Wonder Woman was slowly reforming.

She should've been surprised—Ashborn had clearly grown stronger—but this wasn't Ember anymore. This was the Dark Phoenix.

"You can join her, then," Ember said coldly.

Ashborn gave her a confused look. What did he do?

"Why are you mad? Let's talk about this," he said helplessly. Though his voice carried a hint of concern, there was no fear or unease behind it. After all, after comprehending the power of the Endless, weakness was no longer something that applied to him.

"You don't know why I'm mad?" Ember's face darkened with rage. She opened her mouth, ready to scream at Ashborn, to make him understand exactly why she was furious… but she stopped herself.

What was she even going to say? It's not like they were dating. And the fact that Ashborn's curse had been broken by someone else's kiss—maybe that was proof they were never meant to be.

"Nothing… let's return home," Ember said blankly, her gaze lost in the distance. There was a unique pain in watching the man you loved choose someone you looked down on. She had always thought it would be Raven—after all, their elements matched—but to see it end with Wonder Woman?

She had to admit, being with Ashborn had been fun. Their constant back-and-forth, the teasing, the sharp banter—it made everything feel lighter. She would miss it all… but definitely the chef's cooking.

She wasn't willing to stay and watch them live out their happily ever after. So she would leave, return home, lock herself away, and wait for the time to destroy everything. Hopefully, by the time the next multiverse was born, she would have finally moved on.

"Why are you crying?" Ashborn asked, pausing to think. It wasn't as simple as it looked. But if he looked at things from a certain perspective—say, as if he were the most handsome person in the world—then it all made perfect sense.

"You're jealous," Ashborn said with a firm nod. It would take some time to adjust to this whole "being handsome" thing, but the conclusion was clear… he was handsome. Therefore, everyone else was just jealous.

"…" Ember's face went blank as she saw the prideful look on Ashborn's face. He had been stupid for so long that finally being right about something filled him with unbearable pride. Somehow, it made all her jealousy vanish. Ashborn truly had a talent for giving her the ick.

On second thought, the whole lying-to-her-face thing about not cheating—wait, technically it wasn't cheating… but whatever, she was calling it cheating. That alone was a red flag. Add in the fact that he was as dumb as a log… yeah, what did she ever see in this zombie-loving fool?

"…" Wonder Woman, who had just narrowly escaped death, stared at Ember and Ashborn for a long moment before gently taking Ashborn's hand. Ashborn looked at her, caught off guard for a second, but then shook his head.

"I'm happy you love me… and I feel the same way," he said softly, "which is why I'm going to reject you—along with everyone else."

His words left both Wonder Woman and Ember stunned. Neither of them had expected that.

"Raven?" Wonder Woman asked, her voice soft, heartbroken. But it made sense, of course, he'd go running to Raven.

"I'm not looking for love right now. Honestly, I don't even think I want to get married," Ashborn said with a shrug. Sure, the idea of having a harem once sounded appealing—being a harem king even had a nice ring to it—but in reality, it sounded like a nightmare. Women fighting for his attention, backstabbing each other, maybe even pulling tricks to get him to kill one of them… yeah, no thanks.

Ashborn didn't want to find out, years later, that one of his many angry ex-wives had birthed an overpowered son hell-bent on taking his head. Jokes aside, he genuinely believed he needed to grow stronger before letting his desires take control. He was the Sovereign Monarch—not the Harem Monarch… or the Love Monarch.

As much as it pained him, as much as it made his heart bleed… a harem—cough, I mean dating—would have to take a back seat until he could confidently take a seat just beneath the One Above All. Besides, he'd grown close to a lot of people recently. The last thing he wanted was to start hurting feelings and complicating things.

"What?" Ashborn asked, noticing the strange look Ember was giving him.

"You're choosing her over your shadows…?" she asked in disbelief, leaving Ashborn's face to darken. Just where did she get that idea?

"That's rich coming from a chicken who was just crying a second ago," Ashborn shot back, making Ember's face flush red with embarrassment.

"I was only happy for you. I thought you were finally out of that zombie phase of your life… but I was wrong," Ember said, her tone cold. Ashborn's face darkened.

"Haha, funny. Sounds to me like the so-called mighty Phoenix Force was just jealous… imagine being that old and crying over something so childish… I mean everything in your eyes is childish." Ashborn said with a smirk, causing Ember's expression to darken further.

"If I may say… Nekomimi, Mind Break, Ince—" Ashborn instantly appeared in front of Ember, covering her mouth before she could finish.

"It had no tags, so I didn't know what I was getting myself into," Ashborn muttered in embarrassment, leaving Wonder Woman confused by the list Ember had started to rattle off.

Ashborn, on the other hand, made a mental note to have Siri delete all traces of his future… cough, research. He also swore never to let Ember near his phone again. He let go of Ember's mouth, only for her to immediately start talking again.

"Inflation, mind break… but what I find most interesting is sca—" Ashborn covered her mouth once more, glaring at her in disbelief. Ember, unfazed, simply looked up at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes—the kind that said she wanted something.

"Fine, I'll give you chocolate," Ashborn said in defeat, almost on the verge of tears. They were removing tags from his research site—how was he supposed to know what he was about to watch now? But more importantly… how did Ember even know?

"I don't want chocolate," Ember said, calmly moving Ashborn's hands off her.

Ashborn was left genuinely confused. If she didn't want chocolate, then what did she want? If she expected him to become her slave… well, they'd have to fight to the death. He'd rather die than let such sensitive information get out into the world.

"I want to kiss you," she said, causing both Wonder Woman and Ashborn to freeze in shock. Before Wonder Woman could step forward to intervene, Ember teleported her away. Then she turned back, locking eyes with Ashborn, waiting for his answer.

"Yes!" Ashborn blurted out almost instantly—only to pause and quickly try to backpedal. He put on an unsure, hesitant look, like he was conflicted… but in the end, as if surrendering to fate, he gave a reluctant nod.

"Fine," he said in a low, defeated tone, prompting Ember to snort at him before grabbing his shirt and pulling him in for a kiss. And instantly, her world went blank.

She couldn't help herself—her hands wrapped around Ashborn, pulling him in deeper, as if she were trying to fuse their heads together. There was something about this kiss. It felt like being kissed by the force of destruction itself… but it wasn't just destruction. She felt dreams, death, and countless other forces woven into it.

To Ember, this kiss felt magical. And as the embodiment of life, death, and rebirth… what more could she want?

But why stop at a kiss? Ember moved quickly, ripping Ashborn's clothing off—only for everything to come to an abrupt halt. Before things could go any further, darkness surged up around her, trapping her in place. Her eyes flared with rage as she realized what had happened. Raven, now joined in focus with Supergirl, had sealed her away.

Ashborn licked his lips lightly, secretly displeased… though, on second thought, maybe this was for the best… Maybe… right?