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Everywhere was white and the only thing that changes is what's present within that space. Each room, hall, library, indoor gardens, indoor beach and other weird interiors have different furniture, paintings, flowers, views, equipment and the like.
At this moment, I knew I was lost but I had faith in Errai. He'll find me so I kept pushing in. After roaming for a few more minutes, I took a corner and everything turned red.
'Heh?'
The white tiles were replaced by a pure red and rose-like fragrance that caught my smell. I inhaled it deeply before letting go..
'I love this smell.'
The moment my feet entered the space, my instincts screamed. My hair stood on end, goosebumps crawling around my body. Etherium activates automatically and before me is a haze of conceptual red smoke.
'Get out of there.'
Entares warned me, but I hadn't even stepped fully inside when it began. I tried to move back, yet something was already drawing me slowly into the space. My leg went numb, but it didn't stop. It wanted to touch the floor.
A cold grip rested on my shoulder and I was pulled back with force that threw me off balance, hitting the floor.
'Eh...'
I looked up and Errai was standing in front of me.
"Are you alright?"
He asked, extending a hand. I took it and pulled myself up, standing on my left leg. My right leg was still there, but it felt numb and distant, as if it belonged to someone else.
"My leg."
"I'll fix it."
His palm glowed with a soft, bright light. Warmth spread through me. Slowly, sensation returned, tingling, until I could feel the leg beneath me again.
"Cool."
Cepheus didn't respond. His expression had changed; the childlike ease from before was gone. His features looked sharper, older, weighed down by something I couldn't read.
"What's wrong, Errai? Was it Fafnir?"
He didn't answer immediately.
"We shouldn't be here."
His tone was quiet but firm. He turned away, already moving, and I followed.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Let's just get away from this side of the Palace."
I followed him to a quieter area, somewhere he seemed more comfortable. The tension in his posture loosened slightly as we walked, though something still lingered in the way he moved.
"It's been a while since I came to this part of the Palace. Since the A Class, I think."
His voice carried a faint nostalgia, but also something heavier, like memories he didn't often revisit. I could sense he was trying to ground himself, to return to familiar thoughts.
I didn't interrupt. There was no need. Sometimes silence said more than words.
'There's something wrong with this Palace, with Errai.'
"Will you mind checking what's outside?"
It was an odd request, but harmless. I stepped toward the balcony. The cool edge of the railing met my hands as I leaned forward.
The City of Phoros stretched out beneath me. It wasn't the bright, bustling place I remembered from earlier. Night had fallen and it deep and quiet. Lights dotted the streets, small and steady, yet something felt off.
'So Phoros has a day and night cycle. Unusual for the strongest Superworld.'
Now that I was paying attention, I began noticing the oddities.
The sun hadn't moved since I last saw it. It hung in place, large and red, pulsing faintly like a living thing. Its glow wasn't natural. It wasn't a gentle warmth or ordinary radiance. Instead, waves of chaotic energy seemed to ripple from it, slightly distorting the air.
'Impossible.x
I focused harder, Etherium activated.
Layers of reality that normally remained hidden came into view, an invisible barrier enveloping the entire city. It shimmered faintly, like glass under. Nothing beyond it could reach inside.
Below, the streets were empty. There were no pedestrians, chatter or the vibe of ordinary life. Only the presence of machines.
Small spherical robots patrolled the city in slow, methodical patterns. Dozens of them, gliding soundlessly across the ground. Their movements were precise, searching, observing. Guardians of something, though I couldn't tell what.
The absence of people made the city feel hollow. Whatever was happening outside, it didn't match the peaceful impression Phoros usually gave.
"What the hell is going on?"
"That's how we've been living since the incident in A Class."
He stood with his back to the wall, his crown in his hand, his white hair swaying gently.
"The Age of Gods."
I murmured.
"Two Stars fell from Grace and joined the Dark Stars and one Star who was destined to fall ascended into Divinity. That name tag 'Age of Gods' wasn't for show."
He explained.
"What does that have to do with this?"
"One of the Stars who fell from Grace was my twin."
"Twin?"
"Yeah. It's weird because Stars don't have twins. But that's one way to call it. We're Double Stars, Stars with the same foundation. To put it simply, it's like two chicks hatching from a single egg. Just like you, Elara raised us and later on, we became figures on our own."
Magi was always one step ahead. No matter how much I try, I'll never catch up to her. I awakened as a Supergod a few years after she awakened as a Hypergod.
"Due to my relentless training to catch up with her, I became the icon behind the Supergod Tier."
'So that's how it is. I knew he wasn't just a lazy Star from the start.'
"Then it happened. The crimson mongrel magic activated out of the blue and countless Stars and Angels disappeared without a trace."
"Including Lady Magi?"
He nodded, his gaze still on the floor.
"A few years later, the Crimson Moon appeared and we were ready. With the help of Elara, I managed to create a barrier that nullifies the magic and it worked."
No one had been kidnapped, and that triggered something. Magi appeared. It was a long conversation, but she ultimately made her choice and sided with the Dark Stars, honing her Red Magic and experiencing freedom for the first time.
At that moment, I felt the urge to chase her. Luckily, Lady Elara was there to stop me. I wanted freedom as well, yet as a Star it was not entirely possible. It was the harsh truth she told me, and I came to realise it was correct.
"Ever since then, the Moon has been appearing in Osterra specifically every day, but I have taken precautions and deployed bots to protect the rest of my world in case anything happens."
'Wow, he's capable of thinking too.'
"In no time, she rose through the Dark Stars Tier and became one of the strongest. But the same couldn't be said for me. The day she left, my courage, strength, and confidence, no."
He paused, finding the suitable word for it.
"Half of Errai, ceased to exist."
They say, 'one's descent to shadow steals the other's light, leaving them but an empty shell.' I guess that's true.
"Magi's out there doing who knows what without any care. I'm here all alone, bearing the burden of two souls."
(They don't have souls, it's just a way to express it.)
"Don't you know how to destroy the Crimson Moon?"
"I would've done it long ago. But I'll be risking millions if not billions of worlds & lives to achieve. We've built everything together. Destroying the Sun and Moon might trigger something bad. I'm not taking that chance."
"I get that. She must've fixed them to the source of the worlds."
"Yeah..."
"Can you show me the sources of the worlds? They're all connected to Osterra, right?"
"Yeah, but why?"
"I think I might be of help."
"What are you planning on doing?"
"Nothing for now. I have to see it first before I can decide."
"Ok."
Without moving, he teleported us to an abnormal space with countless worlds floating below us.
I switched to Etherium and saw that each world has threads linked to a half white & half-red orb.
The orb was like a sun and the worlds were like tiny planets below it.
Unlike your usual space, there weren't any stars, galaxies or universes in the background, just blackness. That aside, I shifted my concentration to the orb.
'I get it. That orb is holding the Major Concepts and the source of each Superworld. But...what's this cord?'
Ignoring the Conceptual Filaments, my eyes focused on the red and white strands connecting to each world.
(Conceptual Filament = the thread connecting a concept to a physical thing.)
'Let's see what this is made of.'
Without time to waste, Essen gets to work, clinging to the cord and copying its data.
While working on the cord, a few went to each side of the orb. The white side was friendly but I couldn't say the same for the red side which kept burning off Essen.
'Burn all you want. Once I get the code, you'll be mine.'
"What are you doing?"
"Analysing. The orb up there belongs to you two right?"
"Orbs, seriously?"
"What, does it have a name?"
"Genesis Pearl."
"Cool name. Well, do you know about the Parallel Plane of Energy?"
"Etherium huh. I do."
"You're one of the 3%. Nice."
"I can only use it once every 1000 years. I'm currently in the cooldown stage."
'And here I am activating it at least 3 times a day. I really am chosen.'
"Well, I'm examining the structure of the Genesis Pearl and its cords."
"You can do that?"
He asked, surprised.
I've received the codes and can duplicate the system, although the red side will not be complete. I used the Mega Art Axis Mundi to mimic the system before us, Genesis Pearl and the two worlds.
(Mega Art Axis Mundi is an art for cosmic creation. Use to create planet, stars, universes, celestial bodies and all.)
"Let's see for ourselves."
I replied, easier said than done.
'I need to cut off the red strand. Void will do, but I need to be careful.'
'Will it and it'll happen.'
Entares spoke.
'What do you mean?'
'Don't bother. You already have an intention so it'll work.'
He's talking in ways I'm not really understanding. I kept him aside for now and focused on the task at hand.
'My aura is void. It can be broken down into particles like Essen. Then I can use it to attack the string.'
As I was thinking, my aura was breaking down into void particles attacking the cord. They carefully chew away the red strand leaving the white one. Then a new one wrapped itself around the white strand.
"As expected. The strand will regenerate after being destroyed."
"So there's no way around?"
"I didn't say that."
'All I have to do is isolate the red half of the Pearl. To do that, I know the right thing to use. Entares, I need your void.'
'You're already using it.'
'The other one.'
'...it's dangerous.'
He answered hesitantly.
'I know.'
I raised my palm conjuring Entares's void, the lavender force distorting space around it.
"How is this possible? This is..."
"Shh..."
I raised one finger to my lips, prompting him to keep quiet.
"I'm trusting you with this little secret."
A faint lavender light glowed dimly before being diluted to the mass. I broke down a chunk of the mass, directing them to the half side of the Pearl.
Essen and void particles arranged themselves isolating the red from the white. In response to this, the red strand started to fade but I couldn't let it have a natural death, so I used void nullifying it before it disappeared.
With red isolated, void particles and Essen prevented it from merging with white while restricting its ability to create a new link.
Without wasting any time, I applied the same method to the real Genesis Pearl. Although it costs me something, I'm willing to do it. I'm willing to save lives. I'm willing to help a friend.
'How weird.'
I thought, clutching my chest mid action.
"It worked."
It seems he's omniscient within his world.
"The Crimson Moons have disappeared all around the worlds. I have questions but my gratitude comes first. Thank you, Antares."
He expressed genuinely.
"No problem. It feels good to help."
This time, I teleported us back to the balcony and the Crimson Moon was replaced by something natural, something of Cepheus's creation.
"I haven't seen this view for Classes."
He gazed down at the City of Phoros, his eyes gleaming with quiet majesty and excitement.
'What are you feeling right now, Errai?'
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye
'Emotions... I want to feel them.'
'Don't even think of going down this road.'
'Why not.'
'Just don't.'
"You don't know how grateful we'll be."
"No need to make something grand. Keep the bots active though. They're cute."
"It won't hold for long?"
"As long as I'm here, those two cords will never meet. Rest assured, Osterra will be safe. If Lady Magi comes back, I'll come running."
"How? You haven't even met her."
"I have your signatures. Something will react to her presence and we'll have a chat."
I left Essen and some void particles around. Even when I'm far from home, they'll get to work instantly.
"Hmm...you're weird but you're exactly who we need. I'm glad to have you as my best friend."
I smiled not because I could feel something, but because it's what people do at this moment.
"Eltanin has summoned me to Elyvathis. I'd like you to come with me to Norvethis."
He suggested.
"Ok...?? New name."
"Norvethis is divided into four. Morvathis, the dark depths where Fang resides. Isvathis, the Frozen Forest belongs to Fafnir and Elyvathis for Eltanin. At the centre of Norvethis stands Velivathis, the palace where all three come to meet and have meetings."
"It's big."
"Bigger than you imagine. Choose a room and get some rest. We leave tomorrow."
He waved and left, steeped down to feel the atmosphere hemissed for generations.
He does not need sleep, but must obey this cycle. I do not need it either, though I can use a bed.
I spotted the nearest room and collapsed onto the soft bed.
"I wonder what I'll do tomorrow."
I sadi more to myself than anyone listening.
To be continued...