Author’s Note: This Chapter contains information crucial for future arcs. I apologize if it becos a bit dense, but I promise it will be vital for all upcoming storylines.
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The Athyst King, a figure of staggering, arrogant beauty, leaned back against the phantom throne.
"After I built it, I sent it to roam the universe, searching for a descendant," the Athyst King said. His voice was a baritone rumble, a sound that should have been silenced by millennia, yet felt vibrantly alive in the temporal sanctuary. "But I knew many would be hunting , scouring the cosmos for my treasures. Perhaps it seems impossible to you, but I had too many enemies across the entire universe. Maybe it’s because I’m too handso, or maybe it’s because I screwed their wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters... details, details."
Ethan stared at the apparition, the man who was both his ancestor and a cosmic-level lunatic. A single thought echoed in his mind What kind of madman is my ancestor? said Ethan in his mind.
The Athyst King chuckled, a deep, self-satisfied sound. "My security protocols were ticulously calculated," the Athyst King said. "I programd the launch to happen 100 years later. The goal was for the situation to have cooled down a bit... to let the celestial dust settle. But it seems it wasn’t a re 100 years, was it?"
His gaze drifted past Ethan, fixed on sothing only he could see, perhaps a ripple of spaceti itself.
"According to the beacon’s logs, it was 100,000 years," the Athyst King said, his tone shifting from light mockery to a chilling gravity. "A hundred millennia. Yet, with the sheer number of children I sired across the universe, my lineage shouldn’t have been destroyed in such a relatively short period... unless that bastard actively hunted them down to destroy my bloodline while searching for ."
A flicker of genuine rage, pure and blinding like a supernova, crossed the King’s face.
"It’s not impossible, considering that accursed bitch, was with him, helping him," the Athyst King said, the na a snarl of cosmic hatred. "If that’s the case, then it is no wonder my beacon searched for you in the most remote corners of the universe. That bastard couldn’t have possibly tracked you this far."
The King paused, examining Ethan with the keen, judgntal eye of an artist assessing a promising but unfinished sculpture.
"But well... you don’t look bad," the Athyst King said, his smile returning, albeit with a predatory edge. "You inherited my innate beauty and you have a good physique. It’s missing details here and there, a little refinent on the edges, but my dear System—the one I created to exploit your full potential—I’m sure it will fine-tune your details to perfection."
"Any questions?" the Athyst King asked, a smirk playing on his lips, enjoying the shock he’d inflicted.
The sheer weight of the information—the 100,000-year ti jump, the cosmic war, the ruthless hunt for his bloodline by a vengeful queen and so unknown "bastard"—slamd into Ethan. His mind spun, unable to process the scale of the legacy he had just inherited. He was stunned by the revelation and could not articulate a single word.
"Well, since you don’t have any, then it’s ti for us to say goodbye," the Athyst King said, beginning to dissolve around the edges, his athyst armor shimring like heat haze. "This is only a temporary clone, and it won’t last much longer. So, I’m glad to have t you, my son... make your father proud."
The King’s dissolving form pointed a final, imperious finger at Ethan.
"Screw all creation," the Athyst King commanded. "Make every race in the universe your bitch, and fill them all with our glorious seed so they may bear fruits as beautiful as us! Go!"
The finality in the command, coupled with its utterly insane nature, finally broke through Ethan’s ntal paralysis. The thought of this man vanishing, taking all the answers with him, was unbearable.
"Wait... STOP!" Ethan scread. The sound cracked the perfect silence of the chamber. "Don’t go! I have too many questions!"
The King’s fading form paused, the dissolution process halting. The King looked amused.
"I thought you didn’t want to talk," the Athyst King said.
"I was too impacted by everything you revealed," Ethan said, running a hand through his hair, trying to anchor himself in the surreal reality. "I couldn’t even put my head in order."
"Okay, okay, don’t despair," the Athyst King said, the cosmic patience of an eternal being montarily asserted. "There is still ti."
It was at this crucial mont that the Loli, his System’s Avatar, intervened, her voice sharp with a sudden, anxious urgency.
"But Master, shouldn’t we hide him?" the Loli said, her huge, innocent eyes darting nervously toward the unseen walls of the cave. "If they discover us, we would be annihilated!"
The Athyst King’s temporal clone smiled, a slow, terrifying curve of the lips that held the assurance of a god.
"I know what worries you, little one, and it could happen," the Athyst King said, dismissing her fear with a flick of his dissolving wrist. "But this is a temporal sanctuary that I created. As long as that bastard hasn’t reached the rank of Demigod or figured out how to hunt and invade temporal rifts, it is impossible for him to know what happened here."
The King’s words carried the weight of universal law. The Loli’s tension imdiately eased.
"I understand, Master," the Loli said, nodding once, crisply. "Then speak, little one. We will answer you."
The Loli then puffed out her chest, crossing her tiny arms in an attitude of superior confidence, like a seasoned drill sergeant addressing a new, bewildered recruit.
Ethan watched the miniature avatar, who was now adopting the posture of a supre commander. The sudden absurdity, after the heavy talk of annihilation and 100,000-year hunts, was overwhelming. A loud burst of laughter exploded from Ethan, shattering the intense atmosphere of the temporal sanctuary.
"Hahahaha! You!" Ethan said, pointing an accusing, trembling finger at the Loli. "You look like a furious little grape!"
The Loli imdiately dropped her imposing stance, her arms falling to her sides, and a perfect, dramatic pout of disgust appeared on her face.
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