"Daddy... youâve been acting quite mysterious for nearly two weeks now." Aurora said as she stuffed some pastries in her mouth.
They floated together in the vast, silent void between universes.
A wide, circular platform of warm white marble hovered beneath them.
A low table of polished black adamant sat in the center, laden with trays of golden pastries dusted with sugar, bowls of fruits, delicate cups of tea... well Ash was having wine and small plates of honey-glazed cakes.
Around them, the void stretched endlesslyâdistant universes glowing like distant lanterns... But, directly in front of them hovered a massive projection, much like the one they were watching back at the Vossmereâs.
In one corner of the view, Nia moved through a collapsing universe like a living supernova.
Multicolored flames roared around her in a perfect sphereâevery galaxy, world, and star that dared.... to even exist vanished into her Devourance without sound or struggle.
She well... was doing exactly like Ash said... not sparing anything. She didnât waste time trying to get people to bend the knee.
By now, if they didnât know who the Obsidian Devourer was... then it was no sense in speaking. She devoured universe after universe.
Through it all she only had a loving smile... as everything she did was for Ash.
And well.... maybe it wasnât just Nia who was simply destroying everything...
In another frame, Summer drifted through a crimson nebula and if one were to look at her demeanor, she would completely uninterested.
But that wouldnât be entirely true... itâs just that she was such a laid-back woman that it was hard to tell when she was interested.
A single gesture of her hand turned an enemy armadaâs own blood against themâsilent, inevitable. Soldiers clutched their throats as crimson chains tightened, ships imploding from within without a single explosion nor sound.
She was Isolence... and after her wake, not even sound would escape.
Celeste floated above a flickering universe.
Her golden blindfold glowed softly as fate-threads weaved outward in delicate golden webs.
CRACK!
CRACK!
BOOM!
She plucked a single threadâcasual, almost boredâand the entire universe cracked until it exploded as if it was glass.
Nothing remained... even the laws and concepts holding the universe stable simply ceased to have ever existed.
"No need for extra drama, just enjoy your fates." She said as she disappeared moving on to her last target.
----
Aurora watchedâpastry halfway to her mouthâeyes wide with quiet awe.
"Theyâre... really... destructive?" she murmured, swallowing.
Ash chuckled as he sipped some wine.
"Arenât they just lovely," he said with a warm tone. "Maybe one day me and your mothers will be watching you and future siblings destroying existence."
Aurora leaned back on her cushionsâtilting her head at that. The aspect of having more siblings did entice her... but Ash, well he still hadnât answered her initial question.
Aside from his same old smile.
"Daddy! are you going to keep me in the dark forever? Every time I ask, you just smile and say âsoon.â"
Ash took a slow sipâgolden eyes crinkling at the corners.
"I like to keep things interesting, Rora."
She poutedâplayful, but genuinely curious.
"Daddy..."
He set the cup downâsmile turning faintly mischievous.
"Once your mothers and uncles finish their clean up... the show will officially begin."
Aurora blinkedâmusic symbols in her eyes spinning slowly.
"Ugh, well itâs a good thing they are speeding through it all."
Ash nodded onceâgaze drifting to the projection where Niaâs flames were already dimming, the last galaxy folding into obedient silence.
"Right, it should only take another hour," he said softly.
Aurora reached for another pastryâsmiling despite herself.
"Fine. But you owe me extra pastries if itâs not worth the hype."
Ash laughedâquiet, fond.
"Deal."
They floated togetherâfather and daughterâeating, watching, waiting.
And while they did Ashâs eyes wandered to another projection at the far right...
-----
Luminos Sanctum was a secluded world in the Venia Galaxyâuntouched by war, untouched by conflict, untouched even by wandering travelers. A world preserved in stillness, protected by duty older than most civilizations.
And the lone figure drifting through its radiant skies was Eliya Radi, a woman Ash had once met on what seemed like a whim.
Of course, it hadnât been a whim at all.
He had copied her Luminary Seraphim bloodline long ago, back when he was only in the Calamity Rank.
At the time, he couldnât see much about herâhis strength simply wasnât high enough, and he had been far too busy to pry deeper. All he knew then was that she served as the Guardian of the Seraphim Ancestors, a role she had upheld for the last hundred thousand years.
What he didnât know at the time was that she wasnât alone.
Twelve other men and women guarded the Sanctum as well, each taking turns in seclusion since the 21st Cycle. Eliya was the youngest among themâand the one with the greatest potential.
And her having so much potential was why; Ash was led to her instead of the others.
But the Ancestors she guarded?
They werenât pure Seraphim.
They were Nephilimâa fusion of Human, Seraphim, and Demon. Guardians of the Lower Ninth Dimension. Beings who had been in seclusion just as long as Lucy and the others sealed on Earth.
Right now, Eliya floated high above the Sanctumâs horizon, cathedralâlike pillars rising in the distance like monuments carved from light.
HUMMMMM
A massive obsidian monolith materialized behind her, its presence warping the air. Eliyaâs eyes snapped open. She turnedâand froze.
"An... Ancestor?!"
Her voice trembled.
It mattered that she reacted this way.
Aside from the first Seraphim Guardian, none of them had ever seen the Ancestors. None knew what they looked like. None even knew what they were guardingâonly that they must guard it.
They had lived on stories, on duty, on faith.
And now, the gate to the Ancestors had appeared.
Without hesitation, Eliya summoned a radiant token, its surface etched with ancient runes. She pressed her palm to it, sending a pulse of light across the Sanctum.
She was contacting the secluded elders.....
Something was happeningâsomething none of them had ever prepared for.