Blazing Fire Melts Gold

*The next-door novel, Don’t Keep Trying to Mark Betas, is now underway* * Nero is the disabled, ruthless villainous tyrant Alpha in the beloved harem classic The Passion of the Holy Son. When he wakes up one day, he discovers that he’s been bound to a system. System: Maintain your tyrant persona + rack up the hatred of the protagonist’s love interests xN + get killed by them working together, and the mission is complete. Fail, and you’ll trigger a random plot punishment! Nero: . Nero: Oh. * To finish the mission as quickly as possible, Nero brings his targets back to the royal capital ahead of schedule. For example, he tracks down Big Shot A in a perilous place of exile, pardons his crimes, and helps him rise step by step to the rank of supreme commander. In exchange, though, he demands Big Shot A’s Omega sister, humiliating him in the process; For example, he plucks Big Shot B from a cage where space pirates sell people, makes him don the Empire’s finest heavy armor and fight the toughest battles, yet never deigns to give him a kind word in court; For example, he takes Big Shot C away when everyone is pointing fingers and spitting insults at him, then sends him to the front lines with ample scientific research resources, leaving him no chance to enjoy the riches and glory of the Empire’s chancellor. As for Big Shot D, who grew up with Nero as a childhood friend, Nero can’t figure out at first how to make him hate him. Until he notices that whenever the Holy Son, the protagonist’s beloved, blesses him with a kiss, the other Big Shots’ hatred meters shoot up. So Nero immediately hooks an arm around the Holy Son’s neck and decides to have him give Nero a few more kisses. The system weeps with joy: Host, it’s going through the roof! The hatred meter’s going through the roof! This Host is incredible.jpg Nero is quite pleased too: The Holy Son is useful.jpg * The day the hatred meter finally maxes out, the system happily prepares to wrap things up. But neither the key plot point of a revenge killing nor the protagonist’s defeat ever happens. The silver-haired emperor stands atop his mecha, looking down proudly at the invaders who have been utterly defeated. His scarlet cape is drenched in blood, yet shines millions of times brighter than the sun of Delphi. System: ...How could this happen! Major plot deviation warning! Random plot punishment warning! Nero smiles: I wonder what the punishment will be? Before he can finish speaking, his period of differentiation comes to an end. The Empire’s emperor, repeatedly confirmed by imperial physicians to be destined to become a powerful Alpha, quietly differentiates into a top-tier Omega amid the fervent gazes and cheers of billions of his subjects. -4 A secret scent drifts down from the throne. Four pairs of eyes, seemingly meekly lowered, suddenly freeze. A scarlet hunger flashes in their eyes. You are a rose on a lofty branch. You are molten gold in a raging fire. One day, I will use the most extravagant chains of pure gold to lock you inside the cage that belongs to me. *A truly ruthless, iron-fisted tyrant receiving; not a split-personality story, no ship wars, 1v1. Ninety-five percent of the story is the protagonist working hard on his career, plus a warning for red-eyed puppy boys with one-sided crushes who fight like crazy. The mutual romance is extremely, extremely slow-burn and won’t begin until after the protagonist has a child. A marriage-and-child first, love later warning. The outline hasn’t reached the protagonist having a child yet, so if that bothers you, you can wait until there’s more to read... [Blurb updated 10/30: The pairing is set: Big Shot C, Fox Bro. The outline has reached the protagonist having a child, but the child and next generation won’t get much focus. The main focus will be on the mutual romance. 0.0] *A recovery fic for treating novel-writing PTSD. I’m a corporate drone in real life, so I update according to the rankings (and deadlines)... I won’t read many comments while the story is being serialized, and I’ll periodically deal with a batch of typos. Feel free to speak your mind in the comments, but absolutely no attacking fellow readers. Please try not to attack Nero’s wife either. If you really have to, you can attack the dog author instead _(:з)∠)_=3 *Please try not to mention this story under other people’s novels or on anonymous forums, and likewise try not to mention other people’s works below this one. Thanks for your support, everyone! A deep bow for you all: dum-dum-dum-da-dum, dum-dum-dum-da-dum, dum-dum-dum-da-dum-dum-dum-dum Theme: May I become a torch, burning away the long night and its sea of stars