An Understated Dominance Novel (Dahlia & Dustin) by Marina Vittori updated 2025-26 - An Understated Dominance Chapter 2674

Chapter 2674

“Stay calm?” Grace blinked in confusion, turning to Logan with a puzzled look.

But Logan wasn’t admiring the breathtaking scenery around them. His sharp, eagle-like gaze swept across the valley, carrying a faint chill that could pierce through deception itself.

“What you’re seeing might look real,” he said quietly, “but it isn’t right. The spiritual energy here—though rich—is unstable, almost impatient. The music sounds beautiful, but it’s too perfect, too flawless to be natural. Look closer—the scent of the flowers, the rhythm of the water, even the drifting clouds. Doesn’t it all feel… staged? As if it exists solely to please the senses?”

His words struck like a spark in the fog. Grace and the more seasoned guards focused their senses, and suddenly the perfection began to feel wrong.

The floral scent, once refreshing, now seemed overly sweet—so cloying it made them dizzy. The steady rhythm of the water never once changed, as if it were on a loop. Even the floating mist above the valley followed a fixed, unnatural pattern.

“It’s an illusion!” Grace gasped, her heart skipping. A cold sweat ran down her back.

If Logan hadn’t pointed it out, she would’ve gladly drowned in this too-perfect paradise.

“What a remarkable illusion,” Logan murmured, half-admiring, half-serious. “This isn’t a simple trick—it reaches directly into the heart, showing you what you most desire. It doesn’t create falsehoods; it reflects the truth inside you.”

As if responding to his words, the world around them began to shift.

The jade pavilions grew clearer. Then, faint figures appeared within the tallest tower.

Grace’s pupils shrank. Her breath caught in her throat.

At the window stood a middle-aged man in bright yellow robes—his face kind, yet pale with sickness. His eyes looked into the distance, filled with longing.

Her father.

And beside him—her mother, long gone—graceful in a flowing palace gown, smiling gently and waving.

“Father! Mother!” Grace cried, her voice breaking. Tears welled up instantly, her reason slipping away as a tidal wave of emotion crashed through her.

She took a step forward—ready to run into their arms.

“Wake up!”

Logan’s cold voice thundered inside her mind like a crack of lightning.

His fingers came together like a blade, glowing with a pale, sacred light that cleansed the spirit. He touched her brow lightly.

A chill surged through her body. Her vision blurred as the figures of her parents twisted like water disturbed by a stone, then faded—shattering into mist. The brilliant palace melted away, leaving only gray fog.

The illusion was gone.

But the loss hit her hard. Her knees buckled, and she would have fallen if a female guard hadn’t caught her. Her breathing came fast and shallow, her face ashen.

All around her, the other guards were still trapped in their own false paradises.

Some saw caverns filled with gold and jewels. Others saw lost loved ones, smiling and alive. Some stood tall as martial kings, basking in the worship of thousands.

They laughed. They wept. They fought shadows and hugged ghosts—utterly unaware of the danger surrounding them.

“Hold your minds steady!” Logan’s voice boomed again, deep and commanding, carrying waves of spiritual power. “Guard your hearts! What you see is not real!”

His shout reached some—but not all. A few with strong wills blinked out of their trances, faces pale and shaken. The rest remained lost, eyes glazed.

Two guards even turned their blades on each other, fighting over an illusory “treasure.” Steel clashed, and blood splattered across the rocks. Both fell with faint smiles—dead, yet believing they’d won.

Grace trembled. The chill of fear crawled up her spine.

Logan’s frown deepened. He knew he couldn’t let the illusion consume any more lives.

He drew in a deep breath. A blue-gold glow flared in his eyes, vast and heavy as the sea, sharp and unyielding as forged steel.

“Break—the delusion.”

No thunder. No roar. Only a silent wave of power bursting from his mind, rippling outward like circles across still water.

Wherever the ripple passed, the false paradise began to unravel.

The jade towers twisted, the waterfalls flickered, and the flowers melted into gray smears of light. The illusion peeled away like paint from old parchment—revealing the truth beneath.

There was no fairyland.

Only a desolate valley—jagged rocks, lifeless trees, and dark red soil that looked soaked in old blood. The air was thick with the stench of decay and sulfur.

The “music” had turned into the mournful wail of wind. The “fragrance” was just the stink of rot.

Even the sparkling spring in the distance was ringed by piles of bones—human and beast alike.

The paradise was nothing more than a graveyard wrapped in illusion.