The Divine Seed pulsed in Ethan's hand like a living heart.
Warm light shimmered between his fingers, every beat echoing through his divine core. He could feel it calling—softly, insistently—like it wanted to be born.
> [Divine Seed – Light Origin]
[Status: Dormant]
[Warning: Activation of an unsanctioned world will alert Core monitors.]
Ethan smirked. "Yeah, you've said that before."
Two worlds already orbited below him—Aion-01, steady and peaceful; Aion-02, burning bright with unstable magic. Both thrived. Both fed him faith.
But both were bound by the same rules of the System.
He wanted something… different.
He opened his palm and willed the Seed to unfold.
Light spilled out, flowing upward instead of down. It expanded into a sphere of raw brilliance, its radiance bending the space around it.
> [Initializing World Creation.]
[Designation: Pending.]
[Affinity: Light.]
"Let's call you…" Ethan paused, watching energy spiral into a lattice of gold and white. "…Luminara."
___
Creation wasn't instant.
Where Aion's worlds had formed from dust and rock, Luminara was born from pure energy—an ocean of light that thickened and folded until form emerged.
Landmasses glowed faintly, translucent at first, solidifying only when Ethan poured his own divine energy into them.
> [Stability: 28% → 67%.]
[Atmospheric Composition: Photonic Vapor Detected.]
[Unique Condition Discovered: Light-Bound Matter.]
The System's neutral tone wavered slightly, as if it didn't understand what it was describing.
Ethan grinned. "Even the System's confused. Perfect."
He shaped mountain ranges out of hardened light and seas that rippled like molten glass. There was no sun—because the entire sky radiated. Every atom glowed softly, illuminating itself.
When he was done, Luminara floated between his twin worlds like a newborn star.
> [World Established: Luminara-03.]
[Warning: Undocumented parameters detected.]
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Undocumented? That means you can't track it, can you?"
No response.
He smiled wider. "Then we'll keep it that way."
___
He drifted into the world, descending through clouds of white fire. The air tasted warm, alive, humming with radiant energy.
When his feet touched the ground, light coalesced around him, forming patterns in the air—glyphs of creation waiting for commands.
> [Would you like to seed life?]
[Yes / No]
"Let's see how far we can push this."
He chose Yes.
Streams of golden particles poured from the ground, weaving into silhouettes—humanoid at first, but different. Their bodies were translucent, veins pulsing with light instead of blood. Eyes like twin suns opened one by one.
> [Lifeform Created: Luminaris]
[Affinity: Radiance]
[Potential: Adaptive / Unknown]
The first Luminaris stepped forward, kneeling. "Creator," it whispered, voice like chimes in wind. "We awaken."
Ethan studied it curiously. "You can speak already?"
"Yes. We are born of thought and light. Knowledge is within us."
He folded his arms. "That's… new."
Unlike the mortals of Aion, who needed centuries to build fire and bronze, these beings already understood language, emotion, hierarchy. They were intelligent—too intelligent.
> [Warning: Accelerated cognitive structure detected.]
[Faith resonance unstable.]
Ethan frowned. "Unstable how?"
Before the System could answer, one of the Luminaris suddenly shuddered. Its body flickered, the light inside it pulsing irregularly.
"Creator," it gasped. "The light burns too bright—"
It exploded into fragments of crystal and dust.
The others recoiled in horror. Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"Okay… so perfect consciousness has a downside."
He reached into the energy streams and adjusted their essence, softening the brightness of their cores. Slowly, the remaining Luminaris steadied, their forms stabilizing.
> [Genetic Blueprint Modified.]
[Stability Restored.]
The leading Luminaris bowed again. "We live because you will it."
Ethan exhaled. "Yeah, just try not to explode again."
___
He observed them as time accelerated.
In days that passed like moments, the Luminaris built shining towers from condensed light, cities floating gently above radiant seas.
Their faith came not from fear or desperation but reverence—a calm, collective devotion that radiated like song.
> [Faith Energy +6 200.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Resonant Communion — Enables direct thought exchange with believers.]
He smiled. "Now that's efficient."
Through the connection, he could feel their emotions — curiosity, admiration, serenity. Their minds moved in harmony, linked by threads of living light.
They weren't like the people of Aion. They were a single, unified consciousness.
And that, he realized, might be both gift and danger.
___
A sudden tremor passed through the atmosphere. The light dimmed for a heartbeat.
Ethan straightened. "That wasn't me."
> [External energy fluctuation detected.]
[Source: Root Space Disturbance.]
The sky split open. A rift of black appeared above Luminara, swallowing starlight. From within the void, a familiar voice echoed — calm, melodic, but colder than before.
"Ethan Vale. You just couldn't stop creating, could you?"
Seraphis stepped through the rift, wings folded tight, his expression unreadable.
Ethan's jaw tightened. "You said to hide it, not destroy it."
Seraphis looked around, eyes glimmering with awe and unease. "You've built something impossible. A world of pure radiance… one that the Core cannot see. Do you realize what that means?"
"I'm guessing it's not good news."
"It means the Core will see only the absence — a void where creation should exist. To the System, this world is a hole in reality."
Ethan frowned. "And holes get patched."
Seraphis nodded slowly. "If it finds you, yes. But…" He hesitated, a rare flicker of uncertainty crossing his perfect features. "…there are those among us who might protect such a world. If you can prove it's worth saving."
Ethan folded his arms. "Let me guess. Another test."
Seraphis' wings shimmered. "Always. Prepare yourself, Architect. The Pantheon watches. And so does something older than the Core."
With that, he vanished, leaving only a faint trail of golden dust that faded into the glow.
Ethan stood in silence, the radiant cities of Luminara shimmering beneath him. His people — his creations — looked up at him with devotion, unaware of the danger above their heavens.
He clenched his fist, determination hardening his voice.
"Then let them watch."
Light blazed around him, bright enough to pierce even the void beyond the world.
"I'll build something they can't erase."
___
To be continued…