Chapter 194: Nero Claudius
After Rowe became a true Primordial in Northern Europe, his presence spread across the entire planet.
He looked down upon the world beneath his feet, and that single act was enough to make certain beings respond. Not kings. Not heroes. Things that had already stepped beyond the frame of human history, standing above the Primordial threshold.
From East to West.
So Rowe understood something clearly. Great Qin was not the only place in this world that could meet him head on.
If he wanted to keep moving forward, he would have to keep walking into danger. Not because he wanted to die, but because he wanted strength, and he refused to fear death.
Where there was risk, there was also opportunity.
Next, he would go to Rome.
A power in the West that could stand beside Divine Land in this era, not as a lesser imitator, but as a rival civilization.
And there, the Moon Cell had cast its light.
An existence that had once resisted the Star Hunter's main body upon the Moon, forcing it to descend to Earth only as a low level terminal. An existence that evolved by consuming divinities to reach its objective of devouring planetary civilizations.
A supercomputer on the Moon.
Moon Cell.
Its full definition was clear enough. The oldest existence in the Solar System, a super quantum computer installed on the Moon, possessing influence on the scale of Solar System specifications.
Specifications did not equal raw violence. They described scope, authority, and how far one's shadow could stretch.
Even so, the Moon Cell's light, even a fraction of it, was still power.
Power that could kill Rowe.
And if it did not kill him, it could make him stronger.
The First Emperor of the Lostbelt had already handed Rowe an immense archive of human order information. With the Moon Cell's computational capacity, Rowe could digest it completely, convert it, and rebuild parts of himself with it.
If he survived, he would evolve.
At that point, there was nothing to debate.
Still, deciding to go was not the same as leaving at once. Rowe moved quickly, but not so quickly that he forgot the people who had stayed when they had every reason to run.
In the Highest Heaven, Rowe withdrew his gaze from the world below and looked toward Tiamat, who was waiting.
"Aaaaa?" Tiamat tilted her head, her star like eyes filled with mild confusion.
She had slept for many days. Now she wore the same simple garments as always. A few scales draped across her graceful figure like a quiet hint of what she was. Beauty that made mortals forget to breathe.
Rowe only smiled.
"Nothing. Just looking."
Then, more importantly, he added, "I will not leave immediately."
Tiamat nodded, visibly pleased.
From behind her came another voice, sharp as a thrown needle.
"If you dare leave immediately, I will chase you immediately."
Consort Yu stepped forward. She was no longer dressed in the heavy splendor of a Heavenly Empress. She had returned to her Star Spirit form, black hair flowing, posture confident, expression openly dissatisfied.
"Coming and going without even a proper greeting."
Rowe's gaze slid to her.
"But I did greet you."
Ereshkigal appeared as well, voice gentle, trying to soften the edges.
"Rowe did greet us. He never leaves without a word."
Consort Yu clicked her tongue, then shifted her complaint without missing a beat.
"I did not say he left without a word. He did not say how long he would be gone. That is the same as not greeting."
Her crimson lips pursed, but she was not truly angry. Not with Ereshkigal, at least. The posture said irritation. The eyes said victory.
She had become Heavenly Empress first. She had become mistress of the Celestial Realm first. She had become Rowe's divine consort first.
Even if Ereshkigal later attained the seat of Houtu and also became Rowe's consort, the order of arrival still mattered to Consort Yu, as if it were a law of physics.
"You should call me Elder Sister," Consort Yu said, hands on hips, pride written across her face.
Ereshkigal tilted her head, thinking it through with sincere seriousness.
"Elder Sister? In terms of age, it is not impossible."
Consort Yu's smile froze.
Rowe laughed, a short sound he failed to restrain. It was always like this. Ereshkigal's presence lacked intimidation, but as an Underworld goddess, she possessed a talent for striking the exact pressure point by accident.
Consort Yu's eyes narrowed. She did not glare at Ereshkigal.
She grabbed Rowe.
So you find this funny.
I will make you stop laughing.
She pressed her lips to his, sealing the laughter away, and the kiss was not polite. It was a declaration.
Rowe stiffened, half caught between surprise and resignation.
"Stop. Let go."
Ereshkigal panicked instantly.
"Eh, wait, stop, stop."
She lifted her hands as if she could physically pull Consort Yu's confidence off Rowe, but before she could do anything, Consort Yu broke away on her own, calm and satisfied. She licked her lips, cheeks faintly flushed, and smiled with deliberate charm.
"Thank you for the treat, Heavenly Emperor."
Rowe looked sideways.
Ereshkigal's eyes were slightly wide. Indignant. And also, dangerously, curious.
Rowe went quiet.
He had a strong feeling the coming days would be less peaceful than advertised.
He could endure it.
Probably.
"Aaaaa?"
Tiamat raised her hand from beside them, expression mild, as if asking a simple question.
Did you two forget I am still here?
Ereshkigal shivered and instantly reassembled her composure. In front of Tiamat, she always felt like a child being watched by a parent. Tiamat had created the first Heavenly Emperor of Mesopotamia. That was close enough to make certain impulses evaporate.
Rowe used the opening to change the subject.
"Let us arrange this place first."
The Highest Heaven would be their home from now on.
Consort Yu sniffed, then flicked her gaze at Ereshkigal, who had retreated into silence, and finally at Tiamat, who still looked confused.
"What is there to arrange? Heaven and earth as a dwelling, sun and moon as a blanket, running wild wherever you like. That is already perfect."
Her eyes returned to Rowe, and she licked her lips again.
Rowe did not comment.
He simply noted, internally, that the concept of "evidence" was not required for a threat to be real.
The following days were as Rowe expected. Peaceful, with a faint undercurrent of noise.
The Divine Land gradually stabilized.
Wang Mang seized the Han. Liu Xiu restored it, founding the Eastern Han. He offered sacrifices to Heaven and became Emperor Guangwu.
This emperor who rose from obscurity never married, never produced heirs of his own. He adopted a successor from among his relatives and rarely met him.
But the palace maids whispered. They said the emperor often stared at the sky, sighing at nothing.
The mortal world remained busy.
The Celestial Realm remained playful.
Pan became increasingly stable.
Rowe and Consort Yu held the titles of Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress, yet they spent nearly all their time in the Thirty Six Heavens. They rarely managed affairs directly. The day to day work was passed to those beneath them.
Rumors reached even the lesser immortals. The Grand Pure One in the Thirty Third Heaven intended to select ten immortals from the mortal world to establish a Mountain Court, a structure meant to regulate immortal activity in the human realm.
Rowe did not intervene.
The highest authority remained still, letting nature follow its course.
As Taiyi of Chaos, aligned with the Rules itself, he did not need to micromanage.
Then time passed.
The Highest Heaven took shape, not as a concept, but as a lived space. The three who stayed there each arranged their residence in their own way.
And soon, it was time for Rowe to leave again.
"By the way," Rowe said, as if remembering something trivial, "where is Xu Fu?"
Consort Yu's expression shifted.
"That girl… I do not know."
Her tone was guilty in the way only the guilty could manage.
Rowe stroked his chin and let Chaos and his own body calculate together. After confirming Xu Fu was safe, he did not pursue the matter.
After so many years, Xu Fu was likely already a divinity class immortal in her own right.
Worrying was a waste.
"I am leaving," Rowe said. "I will return soon."
"How soon is soon?" Consort Yu demanded immediately.
"I do not know."
"Then what is the difference between speaking and saying nothing?"
Ereshkigal stepped closer, voice quieter.
"Come back soon, Rowe."
Rowe looked at her and nodded once.
"Wait for me. I will come back."
Ereshkigal's shoulders loosened.
"You are tricking me… forget it. Come back soon, Heavenly Emperor."
"Aaaaa."
Tiamat watched him as if she had already decided the conclusion.
Someone was waiting for him to come home.
Rowe left the Highest Heaven and descended, setting his course toward Rome.
He hoped the journey would be worth it.
Far away, across the vast sea, a sailboat anchored at a green coastline. Three thousand people stood aboard, exhausted and hopeful. At the bow, a young girl in a square hat stared at the land as if she were naming it into existence.
"Finally. Finally we have arrived."
Before her stretched lush vegetation, the air thick with life. It felt untouched, like the world had not yet learned to write its own history.
"East of Yingzhou, the outermost of the Three Immortal Islands," Xu Fu said, smiling. "This place will be called Dongying."
"Dongying?" a voice said, amused. "A lovely name."
A figure walked beside her. Orange red hair fluttered. Three tails swayed behind her in a lazy rhythm. Her expression was playful, her gaze sharp with intelligence that enjoyed pretending to be harmless.
Tamamo no Mae.
"Still," she continued, "your Heavenly Empress is bold. She dared to let me place a terminal here. Is she not afraid I will revert to my Nine Tailed form?"
"Lady Consort Yu said she needed a battlefront alliance," Xu Fu replied carefully. "And she said even if you recovered your Nine Tailed body, she could still suppress you."
Tamamo no Mae chuckled softly.
"She is confident. How charming."
Her eyes turned toward the horizon.
"But do not worry. I will not."
Then her voice lowered, becoming something sharper.
"A battlefront alliance. Coincidentally, I need one too."
She stared at the new land as if she could already see the shape of her future inside it.
"Let this place become the foundation from which I restore my shattered Spirit Origin."
Nine tails was unnecessary.
Eight would do.
Seven.
Even six.
As long as the path existed.
—--
At the same time, in Rome.
Footsteps pounded through narrow alleys. Shouted orders ricocheted off stone walls.
"Did you find her?"
"No."
"Then keep looking. Emperor Caligula has given the order. She must be found."
"You go that way. We will go this way."
"Yes."
Sunlight spilled across the domed architecture, shining like ripples over white stone.
A girl hiding in the shadow of a corner opened her emerald green eyes. She listened until the footsteps faded, then exhaled slowly.
Gone?
Did I actually get away?
She stepped out.
Golden hair framed a flawless face. A single ahoge rose from her head like a stubborn crown. Her dress was red, her posture poised, her presence too bright for an alley.
Nero Claudius.
Caligula's niece.
During the sane years, she had been his most cherished junior, a princess the Roman Emperor treated with an indulgence that bordered on worship.
Then Caligula changed.
Suddenly.
Cruel. Incoherent. Inverted, as if a different personality had been hammered into place.
He ordered the execution of everyone close to him.
Including Nero.
And Nero, in an act that could only be described as royal madness, chose not to flee.
She broke into the imperial palace and stole the object said to have driven him insane.
A ring shaped like the moon.
Or perhaps more accurately, shaped like an eye.
That was why the pursuit had grown more desperate.
Nero stared at the ring in her hand, still unable to understand.
"What is this? Why would Uncle go mad because of this?"
She frowned, then shook her head.
Now was not the time for analysis.
She took a step to leave, and voices rose from both behind and ahead.
"You are here after all, Princess Nero."
Nero's eyes widened slightly. The guards emerged, closing in from both directions.
Imperial Guards.
The Emperor's personal army.
"We do not wish to harm you," one said, "but please do not make this difficult."
Nero's lips curved.
So they pretended to withdraw, then waited to trap me.
She lifted her chin, calm as a performer stepping onto a stage.
"Rest assured. I will not make this difficult."
Then she added brightly, as if offering kindness.
"It will not hurt much."
In a blur, she moved.
Steel flashed. Bodies fell with heavy thuds.
Nero sheathed her Roman straight sword and exhaled.
"There. Now you can return and report."
She turned to leave, skirts swaying.
Then stopped.
Her instincts screamed.
She spun, sword drawn again.
Someone stood behind her.
She struck.
The blade connected.
And yet it felt like cutting air.
Nero's eyes snapped wide.
A young man with black hair and black eyes stood there, tall and slender, wearing a long robe of white linen.
He had caught her sword between two fingers.
He flicked once.
The steel twisted, then shattered.
His voice was calm, almost scolding.
"Little girl. Such impatience. Where is your decorum?"
A pressure descended.
Not the threat of a strong opponent, but the sensation of facing the starry sky itself, vast and indifferent. Nero's breath faltered. Her mind trembled.
Then the ring in her hand reacted.
As if it had found what it had been waiting for.
It flared with pale moonlight.
Activated.
.....
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