Published at 25th of August 2026 9:11 am

Chapter 1033: A Different Lyra

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Four more days passed in the blink of an eye as the day Lyra was going to arrive finally came, while the day for the Wargrave family dinner was now just a few days away.

It was morning, specifically 7 AM. The normal Asher would have been asleep by this time, but ever since FatelessPen had given him this game, he had basically spent almost all his time gaming, spending days sitting in his chair without moving.

Except for the one time he had stood up and decided to train based on the insights he gained from ’Z’, Asher had basically ignored and abandoned training. His words? "All work and no play makes Asher a dull boy."

Asher was simply gaming this much because he knew that once he returned to Star Academy, he might never have any free or spare time again, as he would throw himself into training as usual. To him, it was best to enjoy these things now while they were here. Of course, he would take them to Star Academy, but unfortunately, they would only become decorations there.

Within the past few days, Asher had also replaced the Marker in his room, changing it to his own personal one instead of Virelass’s. Now, he only had one more free Mark left. Arianna was with one, and one was within his room, making it two.

’Lyra would be coming back today. I would have waited for her outside, but alas, I don’t know the exact time she would be returning,’ Asher thought to himself as he rose from his chair, walked to the bed, and collapsed face-first onto it.

Within the past few days, Asher had been disturbed by Xavienne and Xavian, both of whom wanted to spar, but none of their siblings gave them the time of day, and Asher had no plans on being beaten up by those two.

He turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. With a thought, his phone appeared in his hand as he opened his messaging app and texted Arianna.

{You: You home yet?}

He stared at the message for a moment, then the phone vanished from his hand as Arianna’s message didn’t come immediately. He suspected that she was now on the way back to the Velkarin Empire. After all, it had been six days.

As Asher was lying on his bed, his senses buzzed as Omni Perception picked up on a particular presence he was familiar with.

’Lyra, she’s back,’ Asher thought to himself.

He followed her with his senses as she entered another building. This was the building Lyra went to submit her mission report. After she was done, she simply headed to the maid quarters to freshen up.

’I never thought she would be back so early,’ Asher thought to himself, as he had assumed she would arrive sometime in the evening or at night.

He simply remained on the bed as he waited for her to come to his room. He didn’t have to wait long, as half an hour later, a knock resounded within the room.

"Come in," Asher spoke as he rose into a seated position on the bed, a smile appearing on his lips.

Opening the door, Lyra stepped in, but the moment Asher laid his eyes on her, his eyes immediately narrowed as he picked up a difference between the Lyra before him and the one he knew before. It wasn’t that she was an impostor or anything of the sort, but just that... her presence was now heavier than ever, as though she couldn’t suppress it fully.

"It’s nice seeing you again, Young Master," Lyra spoke, her usual bright smile appearing on her lips.

Her voice snapped Asher out of his thoughts. A smile appeared on his face as he replied, "It’s been a while. I hope you didn’t have a hard time on the missions you took," he asked.

Lyra shook her head as she replied, "I wouldn’t lie, I did. After staying off the battlefield for over twenty years, it felt strange returning to a battlefield once again, but I guess it all paid off," she spoke as she showed off her Life Rank.

The air shuddered and shook as her presence filled the room. Lyra had now stepped into the Radiant Soulstar Life Rank.

Asher immediately shot to his feet, his guard rising even further. Ever since Lyra had stepped into the room, he had sensed there was something off about her, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He had assumed she was an assassin, disguising herself perfectly as Lyra, mirroring her steps, presence, and demeanour.

But for Lyra to jump to the peak of the Soulstar Life Rank, it was impossible. The last time he had seen her, she had only just broken through to the Dust Wavestar Life Rank. And now, standing before him, she was just one step away from becoming a Crownstar Life Ranker, and it had taken her just seven months.

That went against the power system of the planet itself.

"Who are you..." Asher asked, his eyes turning cold.

Lyra sighed as her aura vanished completely. "It’s me, Young Master. A lot happened during the last mission, hence the reason for the change," she explained.

Asher remained standing on his bed, Virelass ready to answer his call. Asher was suspicious, but his mind couldn’t help but give him a crippling logic; if the Lyra before him was an impostor, possessed, or anything of the sort, then the impostor would just need to play their role perfectly and not reveal their presence on the first day of their first meeting.

"I will be needing an explanation. Every little detail matters," Asher spoke, his guard not dropping for even a split second.

Just four days ago, during his discussion with Malrik, right before Malrik left, their last topic of discussion had been the investigation he had told Malrik to carry out on Hito, who had the same ability to explode like the father and son that had killed over four hundred villagers back during the Debro mission.

Malrik had informed him that Hito’s background came back too clean, way too perfect, and that was a red flag. Right now, he was monitoring the boy and would soon send him on a mission, then watch him. Of course, Hito was a small fry in an organization like The Convergence, but regardless of that, a thread had been found, and how this thread would develop and be used was still in the works.

He had just heard that one of his acquaintances might be a spy, and now Lyra, who was a friend of his, had come back different. Asher couldn’t help but wonder what was happening.

"I don’t plan to hide anything, not from you either way," Lyra replied, a small smile of betrayal appearing on her lips.

Although she understood why he was suspicious of her, seeing him stand like this and look at her with nothing but coldness in his eyes still made her feel a little betrayed.

"I will start from the very beginning, Young Master," she stated, her hands clasped in front of her as usual.

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