The Villainess’s Reputation [Kingdom Building]-250. The Hidden Domain
[ Reputation System v1.0 ]
User
: Ravenna Solarius / Joy Cha Kim
Reputation Level
: 79 — (134,560 / 390,900 EXP)↑
Current Reputation Points
: 160 RP↑
Titles Unlocked
: Raven of the Sun Palace, Unruly Princess, Beast Slayer
{ View Reputation Log } { Spend Reputation Points }
The hum of the Origin Domain was the only constant within its boundless, sterile white space.
“Sigh,” Ravenna exhaled, the sound thin and sharp in the vacuum of “The Office”. Her eyes scanned her remaining Current Reputation Points, a pathetic sum of 160 RP that mocked the magnitude of her ambition. She reclined in her custom-summoned chair, gazing to the side where the industrial heart of her operation beat.
The Gun and Cannon Assembly Line stretched out in the distance, a mesmerizing, self-contained marvel of perpetual motion. Forged by the kim blacksmiths then transferred here by Ravenna and fueled by time manipulation settings she had dictated, the line worked non-stop. Steam, generated with fuel that looped, coiled around gleaming brass fittings, powering hydraulic presses that slammed down, shaping barrels and chambers. Components moved along a precise conveyor system, snapping into place with mechanical perfection. The final stage saw fully assembled Kim Pattern Rifles and massive, reinforced naval cannons rolling off the line and stacking into neat, geometric piles.
“Hah,” Ravenna groaned, massaging her temples as she watched the display of her costly success. “The raw materials, steel ingots, petroleum tar, gun powder, didn’t cost even a hundred points to import into the Domain. But once they are synthesized and assembled into a finished rifle, the price skyrockets to ten thousand points to convert the item and get it into the real world.” She traced the conversion cost with an irritated finger. “But I suppose it was worth a million points to acquire an entire initial arsenal so swiftly given the timing.” The cost was steep, but the advantage of having a modern military instantly ready outweighed any expense, especially at her current situation.
Secret Proscenium Stage, Somewhere In between space and time, outside the realms of reality
Beyond the comprehensible boundaries of reality, suspended somewhere in the void between space and time, existed the Secret Proscenium Stage. This towering theatre was constructed from a deep, shifting black stone that seemed to absorb all sound and light, casting the entire space into an eternal, perfect twilight.
The air was filled with the faint, continuous whispers of concealed truths, a thousand thousand secrets murmuring in the ancient tongue of shadows. These were the hidden laws and veiled betrayals that truly underpinned mortal existence.
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In the dead center of the colossal stage, bathed in a single, faint moon-silver spotlight that pierced the darkness, a sole figure moved. It was a male deity, his form defined less by light and more by the absolute absence of it. He was dressed in robes that shifted between midnight blue and deepest shadow, embroidered with faint glyphs that seemed to writhe with unspoken intelligence.
He was dancing. His movements were slow, subtle, and profound, embodying the manipulation of hidden reality. His hands moved with chilling precision, symbolizing the shifting of vital secrets, a fold of his cloak here, a gesture there, mirroring the flow of lethal information.
He did not leap or spin; instead, he glided across the polished stone, his body flowing like liquid shadow itself.
His arms rose and fell in complex, interlocking patterns, symbolizing the weaving of concealed information. A slight twitch of his finger represented the minute alteration of a single ledger entry; a slow, deliberate turn showed the profound shift in political balance caused by one whispered rumor. He performed a deep, unnerving crouch, his robes pooling around him like spilled ink, demonstrating the inherent power of those who reside in the extra-legal laws and hidden realms of the courts.
The rhythm of his movement was dictated not by music, but by the faint, continuous murmur of the secrets he governed. He performed an elaborate, slow-motion gesture of placing his hand over his heart, then quickly snatching it away, representing the discovery and exploitation of betrayal and the hidden leverage people held over one another. The entire performance was a chilling, meditative display of the power extracted from the subconscious fears of mortals. It was the physical manifestation of blackmail given divine form.
It was a performance of raw, covert power that transcended observation; it felt like a visible representation of the god exercising his dominion over the cost of betrayal and the finality of hidden knowledge.
As he reached the climax of his profound orchestration, his movements slowed. He executed a final, precise sweep of his arm, symbolically binding the most dangerous secrets of the Empire into a single, cohesive knot.
His movement ceased completely. He stood utterly still on the silent, black stage, his attention drawn to a phenomenon at the far edge of the infinite void. In the distance, breaking through the perpetual twilight of his domain, a vast and impossibly bright sphere of blazing golden light was beginning to arrive.
The light swelled and intensified, pushing back the shadows, its brilliance utterly foreign to the cool, dark essence of his realm. It was moving slowly but inexorably towards his stage: the unmistakable divine resonance of Solious, the Goddess of the Sun and Justice, deliberately intruding upon the territory of the God of Secrets.
“Keep your unsavory ball of light away from my domain, Solious,” His voice sliced through the air, resonant with powerful displeasure and ancient command, silencing the whispers of countless secrets. “You are not invited here.”
He waited in the absolute stillness of his stage, allowing the challenge to hang in the void. After a deliberate minute of tension, a voice, carried by the advancing radiance itself, finally replied. It was clear, resonant, and utterly uncompromising, the voice of Solious, Goddess of the Sun and Justice.
“So be it,” she announced from the distance, the sound arriving as a wave of light. “I have a matter that requires discussion with you. Open the gates of the hidden domain, Umbra.”
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250. The Hidden Domain
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