After he was done, Ash stood up and teleported in a ripple of rose-pink space, appearing right in front of the eight cultivating companions. The cocoons pulsed one final time, then cracked open in unisonârose-gold light spilling across the rainbow grass like liquid dawn.
They awoke as one.
Vaeloria first, blood-moon eyes opening with quiet majesty, wings unfurling in a soft rustle. Nia beside her, blood-red flame eyes blazing bright, white hair whipping as she stretched with a fierce grin.
Seris, Yonna, Sonna, Thalion, Caelan, and Kael followedâeach aura surging with the dense, refined power of First Calamity. White hair flowing, blood-red eyes gleaming in various shades, black wings with rose-pink veins spreading wide. The air around them hummed, the realm itself acknowledging their ascension.
Ash stood with arms crossed, wings half-spread, lazy smile on his face.
"Look who finally decided to wake up," he said, voice warm and teasing. "Took you long enough. I was starting to think you liked cultivation better than me."
Nia laughed first, punching his arm lightly. "As if, Ashy. Weâre just making sure weâre worthy of standing next to you now."
Vaeloriaâs blood-moon eyes softened. "It feels... incredible. This power is far beyond anything at SSS rank..."
Seris rolled her shoulders, white braid swaying. "Power like this... weâre ready for anything."
Yonna smirked. "Even your bad jokes."
Sonna smiled shyly, wings fluttering. "Thank you, Ash..."
Thalion adjusted his glasses, a rare grin breaking through.
"You never fail to surprise me, Your Majesty."
Caelan chuckled along with Kael.
"Big brother, those lotuses instantly pushed my laws to 100%," Caelan said, shaking his head.
"Big broâs gifts are always over the top," Kael added.
Ash chuckled, then raised a hand.
Eight small orbs of rose-gold light formed in his palmâSub Nexuses, each pulsing with quiet power.
"Think of these as little gifts," he said, sending one into each of them. "These are Sub Nexusesâa tool to push you to the height of your potential, offering tasks, growth, rewards, and guidance. Use them wisely."
Gratitude shone in their eyesâNiaâs fierce, Vaeloriaâs quiet, Sonnaâs soft.
Before they could voice thanks, Ashâs tone turned serious, smile fading.
"The road ahead is long," he said, his voice steady. "You each have your own path to follow, and I donât intend to guide you every step of the way... not that any of you need it, anyway."
He looked at each in turn.
"Iâm sending you off into the vast cultivation worldâon your own. To grow, forge your own path, and become legends in your own right."
Shock ran through them, yet there was no fearâonly unwavering resolve. He unveiled Paragon weapons crafted to match their Laws, forged from the secret realmâs treasures and infused with his own essence.
He handed out life-saving artifactsâtokens, pendants, and rings unearthed from the realmâs deepest ruins. At last, he marked their wrists with rose-pink runes, tattoos that gave a single, gentle pulse.
"These tattoos will give you access to my inner universe... the Main Clan Branch of the Originat Clan," he said. "But you cannot return for at least five yearsâunless you face true death. Go Grow and become monsters in your own right..... and donât forget to spread the majesty of the Originat."
They nodded, eyes fierce with resolve.
Ash opened a portal.
They stepped through into the Cloud Domain of Sia.
Sia and Fay awaited on their thrones, eyes widening at the eight new Primavus.
Ash introduced them briefly.
Then he departed, portal closing behind him.
Sia and Fay exchanged wry smiles at his quick departure, and without further delay, she spoke while producing an artifact.
"Well, letâs not wait any longer. Weâre heading to the World of Myriad Races... and the Galactic Myriad Sect."
The group nodded in agreement and boarded the artifact. In an instant, the realm around them dissolved, revealing a vast ocean beneath. The next moment, they shot away from the world of Astralis.
It was time for them to spread their wings... and for the Originat Clanâs true rise to begin.
-----
Returning to his inner universe, Ash stood high above the floating island, the eternal rose-gold dawn bathing the endless rainbow plains in warm light.
The starlight tree at the center pulsed softly, its golden leaves singing faint melodies. Below, a hundred thousand subordinates cultivated, auras rising like distant stars. Yet a strange emptiness lingered in his chestâa quiet loneliness that no amount of power seemed to fill.
[Tsk, Master, Iâm with you always and forever!] Elysia grumbled, her once-emotionless voice cracking with playful indignation, the facade completely dropped.
Ash chuckled, the sound echoing across the vast cosmos.
"Alright, youâre right. No sense in being sentimental."
He floated cross-legged in the void, wings folded.
"Now, tell me, my lovely Nexusâwhat do you suggest next? Aside from acquiring those two races, what will give me the best potential for optimal growth?"
Elysiaâs presence warmed, her voice soft but clear.
[Masterâs inner universe is... stunted. It spans fifty-nine billion kilometers but lacks true cosmic depth. Stars, worlds, galaxies, nebulaeâstructures that breathe life into a cosmos. The more unique and numerous they are, the stronger the universe becomes... and the stronger Master becomes. Effects like Time Dilation, Creations, and Evolution will amplify exponentially with scale.]
Ash nodded, gaze drifting to the empty void beyond the island.
[You hold over fifty seedsâmany born from your creations, aspects, and lawsâand still retain access to some Unnamed Essence. Start with the very laws of reality... Master, you currently lack the understanding of enough laws to sustainably govern a galaxy, or even a single world. Hehe, hereâs a little loopholeâuse your title, |Forger of the Unwritten Cycle|, open a portal to the outside. Then gather the laws, and instead of creating, simply comprehend.]
Ash felt foolish hearing that, but instead of dwelling on it, he just got to work.
He activated the title.
Time compressed around him.
A fissure openedâa window to Astralisâs starry night.
Then he used his Eyes of First Dawn.
Gaze piercing through the portal, Conceptual Sight drinking in every cosmic phenomenon: star birth, black hole devouring, nebula formation, galactic rotation.
Thousands of seeds bloomed instantly within his cosmosâLaws of Stars, Galaxies, Void, Nebula, Cosmic Dust, Stellar Fusion, Black Hole Gravitation, and countless more flooding in at 100 % comprehension.
The universe shuddered faintly as new seeds took root.
Elysia guided gently.
[Master, now create your first cosmic structureâsomething unique to govern all Laws within your first Galaxy.Your universal core formation will stay incomplete for now, since you currently have enough for only one galaxy. Additional Laws will finish it later.]
Ash paused.
"One more thingâcan we take the Orb of Elaris and remove the Velora Kingdom, Aster, and the female Dragon Champion without causing any harm?"
[With your current Laws... easily.]
Elysiaâs power rippled.
The Velora Kingdom appeared, linking to the 5 million kilometers of land in his cosmosâits citizens blinking in confusion before gazing in awe at the endless dawn.
Aster and the Female Champion were teleported to different locations across the Venia Galaxy. The placements were far from randomâElysia had carefully chosen places that were most significant to their destinies, along with their families and subordinates.
Ash exhaled.
Then he began.
He wove thousands of Law seeds togetherâSpace folding, Time flowing, Gravity binding, Fire igniting stars, Creation birthing worlds, Paradox weaving uniqueness.
His Progenitor blood drop fell into the center.
Finally, the Unnamed Essenceâpure inevitability.
The vortex ignited.
A seed took shapeâa perfect, iridescent orb the size of a fist, pulsing with every color of creation and none, its surface etched with fractal patterns that shifted like living paradoxes, far from any normal galactic core.
One of a kind, a core destined to create a galaxy not from stars and dust, but from tangled dreams and endless cycles, where worlds and stars would be nothing less than breathtaking.
[Seed of Galaxy Core - Cultivation time 30 Years]
A status appeared above the seed, and upon seeing it, he got to work. Time inside his universe flowed twenty-five times faster, and thanks to his title, the process was greatly reduced. Elysia didnât need to say a word as he sat down and closed his eyes.