At the Federation…
The Royal Mansion....
In a particular room, a heavy tension filled the air as four individuals sat around a grand table. Flanking them were the two princesses, along with trusted confidants like Mai and Darwin.
"Brothers, the fight for the throne must end now. One of you must take the seat, and the others must beco his sharp edge," Darius began, a frown on his face.
"There was never a fight to begin with. I was the Crown Prince before he ca back… I was to inherit the throne," Theron said with a snort.
"Really? Even if you were Crown Prince, didn't Father say we could fight for the throne?" Caius responded with a faint smile.
"Well then, let's fight. I'm not afraid...I'll win," Theron replied with a grin.
"And by that logic, aren't I the eldest? I was Crown Prince before you," Caius added.
"But everyone found out you were a bastard," Theron retorted.
Silence.
The four seated were Theron, Caius, Vaelen, and Darius. The air was thick. Everyone looked away, Theron had gone too far.
"Does that change anything? Father is still his father. He's still our brother. Do you dare deny that?" Darius asked firmly as Caius and Theron locked eyes.
"You two are fighting like kids. Even elder brother Vaelen has stopped fighting and shown no interest. Why can't you both sit down and talk about who truly wants the throne?" Darius pressed.
"It's not that simple, Darius. This tradition has been passed down from our forefathers. We can't just ignore it," Caius finally said with a sigh.
"Brothers, can't you see what this tradition is causing? The Federation is in unrest. Look at what you've done to the Duke family,they nearly perished. Do you know how much infighting you've caused among the aristocrats?" Darius paused and glanced at everyone in the room.
"And these forefathers you speak of… are coming back. I discovered sothing terrifying when I went to battle that new race,the demons. In their holand were ancient catacombs filled with coffins, hundreds of them. The walls told stories of the past. After so digging, I realized they aren't dead. Our so-called ancestors, the ones we thought had passed on, are coming back… when the sun no longer shines. They escaped the life and death cycle. Do you know what kind of consequences that will bring?" Darius asked grimly.
Everyone's expression shifted.
Ancestors returning? They all rembered the cruelty of those who ca before, rciless beings who waged war on other races.Heroes of humanity and demons of other races.
"I don't get it… shouldn't we be happy?" Lyssandra asked softly. All eyes turned to Darius.
"Happy? Little sis, do you think they'll let their juniors rule the Federation? They'll take back power and restore a military regi of slavery and soldiers. And I don't believe escaping death cos without consequences. What do you think the Federation will beco then?" Darius asked.
A chill spread through the room.
He was right. Chaos. A war between the new generation and the old all for power. And maybe sothing more. Why did the ancestors escape death? What was their true plan?
"If what you're saying is true… then they must have found a way to counter the effects of escaping death," Caius mused, eyes wide.
"You counter death… with death," Theron suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention.
"I've read ancient books," he explained. "According to what I read, our genes are like universes,they store energy. On the path to power, we first discover it, then fill it with energy and gain control. The final stage is to transform our cells into planets that hold life… and then we break into the Creator Realm."
The room was stunned.
"Wait, what? Why don't we all know this?" Vaelen asked, and the others nodded. Everyone in the federation has been lead to believe the highest realm they could reach was the multi universal realm.
"To beco a Creator, the energy required is massive," Darius added.
"How massive?" Caius asked, gulping.
"A whole multiverse."
That one sentence felt like a sword suspended above their necks.
"No… I don't get it. Are they going to destroy an entire Multi universe?" Seraphina asked, voice trembling.
"Destroy? No," Theron said. "One being must absorb the entire multiverse. We all beco one with him, turned into pure energy that fuels his ascension to the Creator Realm. Every single entity in the multiverse… will be erased."
His eyes widened as he spoke. He once thought it was just legend. But now, with Darius confirming it through the coffins…
Their ancestors intended to end all life in their multiverse.
"Why? Why would they sacrifice all of humanity for power? What is a being without his race?" Lyssandra asked, stunned.
"Sister, you don't understand what the Creator Realm entails. They beco a race of their own. In their cells now planets they can create new life. They don't care about us anymore," Darius said.
"Even so… we won't be the human race anymore. We'll just be copies, clones of their will, nothing more," Caius muttered.
Silence returned.
From a fight for the throne, they had been dragged into the horrifying truth of what awaited them. For the first ti in eons, the royal family sat together united, forgetting their rivalry.
"This is insane… is this how far one would go for power?" Vaelen asked, struggling to comprehend it.
"Madness, yes. But all of them are mad. Beings that close to the Creator Realm will do anything to reach it even sacrifice all of humanity," Darius said with a deep sigh.
"What should we do now?" Seraphina asked the one question that weighed on everyone's heart.
Mai and Darwin were stunned. Should they have even heard this secret? The royal family didn't seem to care anymore, too shaken by the revelation.
But both trembled.
What if Darius hadn't gone to the demon world? What if Theron hadn't read that ancient book?
Would they have embraced their ancestors… blind to the fact that they were being raised for slaughter?
"Brothers, this is exactly why I told you to stop fighting for the throne," Darius said, his voice firm. "Father had ten brothers he was the only survivor of their battle for succession. The rest died. Sa with Grandfather... and the ones before him. Don't you find that sick?"
He looked at each of them, eyes sharp.
"Why couldn't Father simply choose one of us as king and have the rest accept it? Instead, we're made to fight for the throne. Sure, it looks fair but what if it's actually a trap? What if it's a thod designed to eliminate the most talented among us? Don't you realize that not only will three of us die, but we'll also take down the gifted humans who support us? Doesn't it seem like our ancestors are using this system to wipe out any potential threats before they awaken?"
Darius hit the nail on the head, and the room fell into deep silence as realization struck them all.
"You... you're right," Vaelen muttered, his voice trembling. "Even the aristocrats follow this sa thod."
Fear gripped the room. This was no tradition, it was an ancient trap set by their ancestors. A web molded to ensnare them. A carefully crafted death trap.
"But... I don't get it," Lyssandra whispered. "Don't they love us? We're their blood..."
"Love? In the face of power?" Theron scoffed with a cold laugh. "Even Father would sacrifice us. This world is far crueler than we want to believe."
"Fine. Let's say we accept all this as truth," Seraphina said. "But the real question is what are we going to do now?"
Caius and Theron exchanged glances. They were the only two still clinging to the throne. Vaelen had stepped aside. Darius had walked away from it. Now, the weight of choice hung between them.
Who would let go next?
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