The Rejected Mate's SSS-Class Awakening

The elevator doors slowly parted, and a blast of cold wind, mixed with the scent of engine grease and ionizing radiation, swept in from the gloomy subterranean hangar.

Lyra took a single step forward, and the fatal backlash of forcibly severing an S-class soul contract swallowed her whole like a tsunami. Her vision went black, and she collapsed heavily onto the freezing metal grating like a puddle of mud.

The unfiltered cosmic radiation from the open hangar bay doors poured relentlessly onto her defenseless, broken body. Her once-fair skin instantly erupted in massive, horrifying blisters.

Two passing Vanguard mechanics cast a look of sheer disgust at her. Instead of offering help, they mocked her and stepped right over her body.

"Isn't this the Commander's famously useless wife? Ignore her, she's definitely playing the victim again."

The mocking laughter faded away. Lyra lay alone on the freezing ground, feeling her life force draining away rapidly.

However, in the very last second when she thought she was about to be reduced to ashes, an unprecedented, terrifyingly colossal energy suddenly erupted from the deepest depths of her soul!

This power, which had been deathly sealed away merely to cater to Kaelen, finally let out a roar that shattered its chains now that the parasitic exploitation was gone. Pure, blinding violet-gold light burst from her battered cells.

At a miraculous speed visible to the naked eye, it madly devoured the lethal radiation, instantly reconstructing her ulcerated skin to flawless perfection, even radiating a faint, god-like luster!

Lyra snapped her eyes open. There was no longer a trace of pain or subservience in those violet eyes; instead, they shot forth a soul-crushing, supreme dominance.

"So... the mentor was telling the truth." She slowly clenched her fists, feeling the S-class "Ultimate Adapter" power within her.

She realized that she was no longer an E-rank nobody, but a true S-rank power queen. If she had this power, she would never bow to anyone again. She would build her own stellar empire, an impenetrable fortress where no one could ever betray or look down on her again.

And to build an empire, she needed a foundation, and allies she could truly trust.

A figure suddenly surfaced in her mind. A boy who used to follow her around like a loyal shadow when they were children. He had looked at her with stars in his eyes, promising to conquer the universe for her.

"Orion..." Lyra whispered the name. The boy was now known as the terrifying Pirate Lord of the Lawless Sector. But to her, he was the only one who had ever offered her pure, unconditional devotion.

She transformed into an afterimage undetectable to the naked eye, instantly flashing beneath the most advanced "Phantom" stealth ship docked in the corner.

She bypassed the security protocols she had personally created. The hatch opened silently, welcoming its true master.

Meanwhile, the storm outside the central command room had ceased. Kaelen strode through the doors with arrogant steps, Sylvia clinging tightly to his side.

Kaelen walked straight to the master console, his eyes instantly stung by the thick parchment and the family silver ring pressing down on it.

When he clearly saw the bold header "Mate Contract Termination" on the document, an incredibly grating, arrogant sneer squeezed through his teeth.

Sylvia peeked over, faking a gasp of horror. "Oh my god, Kaelen! Sister Lyra actually forged a supreme court legal document to threaten you just to fight for your favor!"

"What else can a parasite with zero survival skills do besides play these grandstanding parlor tricks?" Kaelen coldly swept the official termination document onto the floor.

Adjutant Vance hurried in at that moment carrying a stack of damage reports, stepping right onto the document.

"Clean up this pile of trash," Kaelen ordered with extreme disgust.

"Yes, Commander!" Vance immediately pressed the cleaning directive.

A cleaning drone swiftly glided over, mercilessly sweeping the termination decree into its incinerator, burning it to absolute ashes. With his own hands, Kaelen incinerated his only chance to learn the truth and salvage everything.

Inside the subterranean hangar, Lyra was already seated firmly in the Phantom's pilot seat. She wiped Kaelen's ultimate defense system—which she had built—from the server, reducing it to dust.

The Phantom's stealth thrusters erupted violently. Like a black blade tearing through the heavens, it smashed through the hangar's roof doors with a deafening roar, shooting toward the deep cosmos, straight toward the Lawless Sector.