The Rejected Mate's SSS-Class Awakening

Lyra walked down the freezing white hallway of the central command tower, her soaked military boots squeaking harshly against the metal grating.

Passing a floor-to-ceiling window, she caught sight of her miserable reflection—covered in mud, her skin blistering and ulcerated from radiation burns.

A massive holographic news projection flickered on the wall, broadcasting the latest Star Network gossip from a few hours ago: "Vanguard Commander & Imperial Chief Healer: A Match Made in the Stars?"

In the footage, Kaelen was gently helping Sylvia out of a luxury hover-car, shielding her as if she were the most precious treasure in the universe.

Lyra's fingertips twitched. A faint, barely visible spark of purple flame danced on her fingertip before dying out weakly.

Once, her mentor had held her hands in absolute awe, saying, "Lyra, you possess unparalleled talent! With rigorous training, you could absolutely become an S-class powerhouse who commands the stars!"

But to be Kaelen's "good wife," she gave up her star-energy cultivation. She exhausted all her energy brewing foul-smelling genetic stabilizers for him, staying up all night smoothing out his berserk beast-energy channels, and managing the tedious, heavy logistics of the entire Vanguard Clan like a lowly servant.

She had forcefully drained herself into a useless E-class piece of trash who couldn't even withstand basic radiation!

"I gave up the sea of stars for him, and he despises me for being a puddle of mud." Lyra bit her lip so hard it bled, her heart aching as if a piece of her flesh had been brutally carved out. She was an absolute fool.

Facing no obstacles, she walked directly into the dimly lit central terminal room. The defense algorithms running here were all created by her anonymous sweat and blood.

Lyra walked to the master console, her hands flying across the virtual keyboard. Using a supreme hacker backdoor she had personally implanted years ago, she effortlessly sliced into the security monitoring system of Kaelen's private lounge.

The holographic screen instantly popped up with the image of that despicable pair.

Sylvia was leaning against Kaelen's chest, saying coquettishly, "Kaelen, you yelled at Lyra so harshly just now, won't she get hurt? After all, you're all she has in this world."

Kaelen's cold and disgusted voice replied, "She brought it on herself. She always uses that weak, dying look to morally kidnap everyone. Sylvia, stop wasting your empathy on a worthless parasite."

Parasite.

That single word was like the most vicious curse, completely shattering the last pitiful trace of hope in Lyra's heart. The temperature completely vanished from her beautiful violet eyes, leaving only a terrifying, deathly stillness.

Without hesitation, Lyra pulled up the deep-level registry of the Imperial Marriage Bureau. The golden chain representing their Beast Mark contract pulsed mockingly in mid-air.

She directly swiped out the supreme-clearance, locked document: The Mate Contract Termination form.

The system flashed frantically with a blood-red warning: "WARNING! A low-class female unilaterally and forcibly severing an S-class Beast Mark will face fatal trauma of soul tearing and genetic collapse! Do you wish to proceed?"

Lyra didn't blink. She pressed "YES" heavily with her bloody finger.

The moment she gripped the electronic stylus and signed the last stroke of her name, a catastrophic, nuclear-like agony exploded in her left shoulder—the exact spot scarred with Kaelen's exclusive mark!

"Argh—!" Lyra screamed, crashing heavily onto the glass floor.

For a body currently at the E-class level, forcibly cutting an S-class soul bond was like a gruesome execution by a thousand cuts! She felt an invisible giant hand forcefully crushing her spine inch by inch, tearing her mental landscape into countless shreds.

Blood poured madly from her mouth and nose, staining the pristine white floor red.

Pain! It hurt so much her internal organs were churning, hurt so much she wished to die immediately!

But in this near-death torture, Lyra was laughing manically, tears mixing with blood smashing onto the floor. This agonizing pain of being skinned alive was the price of her rebirth! It's broken, it's finally broken! She would never be that lowly parasite again!

Accompanied by a blinding white light, the termination decree officially took effect.

Trembling, Lyra used every ounce of her strength to crawl out of the pool of blood. She placed the physical decree, stamped with the seal of the Imperial Supreme Court, squarely in the dead center of the master console.

Then, she took off the heavy silver ring symbolizing her status as the Vanguard Clan's matriarch, tossing it onto the decree with a casual "clink", as if throwing away a bag of nauseating garbage.

Without a shred of lingering attachment, Lyra turned around, dragging a long trail of blood, and walked toward the private elevator leading to the subterranean hangar.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard lounge, Kaelen suddenly clutched his chest in agony. A fatal spasm, as if a piece of his heart had been forcefully gouged out, made him drop hard to his knees.

"What's wrong?!" Sylvia cried out in alarm.

Kaelen gasped heavily for air, looking blankly at his empty palms. An unprecedented, terrifyingly deep sense of loss instantly engulfed his arrogant soul.