"An Empire of Gods?"
One of the young won — a sharp-eyed cultivator with short white hair — asked, her voice a mix of awe and genuine confusion.
"What does that even an?
Though everyone in Pantheos traveled the sa road toward becoming Gods, they were nothing like the Ineffable Pantheon—far from it, in more ways than one.
The Ineffable ascended to godhood the instant they bonded with Ash, while others had to walk that path slowly and deliberately.
And since Pantheos was still in the First Era, Gods weren’t exactly a common sight.
That’s not to say they didn’t exist—there were already so within Velora itself—but once soone achieved godhood, they began to operate exclusively within the Higher Layers.
Unlike the realities outside, stepping into the Higher Layers ant becoming completely imperceptible to those below.
There was literally no way around it; even the God themselves couldn’t diminish their existence to be sensed by lower beings.
From that mont on, they would always be sothing greater—unreachable and unseen by those below.
The only reason they could see Ash now was simply because he’d been the one to set the damn rules in the first place.
So, with these ten never having truly laid eyes on a God, they barely even grasped what it ant to be part of an Empire of Gods.
Ash stood up from the throne without a word.
HUM!
As he began walking down the steps toward them, the ancient throne behind him started to change.
The red and white stone softened and reshaped itself, blooming outward into a tranquil oasis — a small, serene garden of floating lily pads on crystal-clear water, surrounded by gently swaying trees with leaves that shimred like polished jade.
Soft golden light filtered through the canopy, creating a peaceful, almost sacred atmosphere in the center of the grand hall.
The ten youths watched in stunned silence as the transformation completed, the throne now a living, breathing sanctuary of calm within the throne room.
Ash stopped a few paces in front of them, his reddish-purple eyes calm but carrying an undeniable depth.
"Words can’t explain it enough," he said simply. "So it’s best if you wait for the mont to co. For now... just prepare yourselves."
As he spoke, the ten of them instinctively rose around him, sitting cross-legged.
"I will begin by rewriting your entire existences." With just a blink, each of them was suddenly encased in a cocoon.
"And this is the fun part," Elysia remarked as she appeared on his left shoulder.
As had been said countless tis before, Ash never truly cared about anything except power and those closest to him.
The sa went for this Kingdom.
Yes, he wanted to see it beco an Empire, but his main focus was entirely on making that happen—Velora was hardly even on his mind.
’They’ve all lived good lives because of anyway,’ he thought, summoning the Codex.
Right now, his only driving force was pushing himself down the path toward breaking the Fifth Wall.
He had returned to Velora solely because he didn’t feel like building an entirely new civilization from scratch, and he intended to transform the beings here instead.
"You’re so hypocritical," Creara said with a chuckle.
"So, what... you all love for it," he replied with a shrug.
And with that, he began to literally rewrite the existences of these ten, giving them entirely new races, stars, and even nas.
From this mont on, each would bear a Star Na.
But all of that would follow after Ash created their races, as the plan wasn’t to slowly approach the Fifth Wall, but to reach it in a full sprint.
"And so, these ten will beco the future Pillars of the Veloran Empire and its Pantheon, each embodying a race specifically tailored to aspects of Novel Creation."
He then went on to write more details about the race and exactly what they would be doing.
For example, he noted they would embody various aspects of Novel Creation, such as world-building, editing, pacing, and so on.
However, this was largely for Ash’s own benefit, since, as ntioned before, any achievents or accolades his inhabitants earned would bring him rewards many tis over.
The final detail was that each participant would be sent into different eras of Pantheos.
This ant they would essentially be lost in ti until then, as Ash would train and push each of them to the level, he needed before sending them out to establish Velora’s new order.
One by one, the glowing cocoons dissolved into shimring motes of light, fading from the oasis throne room until only a single cocoon remained.
HUM!
It pulsed gently before splitting open with a soft sigh of released energy, and a young woman nad Emma stepped out.
She was a calm, artistic young woman with long auburn hair that fell like silk down her back. Tall and slender, her beauty was quiet and refined, untouched by exaggerated curves.
As she fully erged, her form shimred and expanded smoothly, rising until she stood hundreds of feet tall, her presence filling the vast chamber without effort.
She turned slowly, her gaze sweeping across the empty space where the other nine cocoons had been.
A faint crease of confusion touched her brow.
"Where... are the others?" she asked softly.
Ash smiled and approached her, his voice steady and reassuring.
"You will et them again one day. But everything will begin with you."
He gestured gently for her to follow and led her across the lush oasis floor toward a small, perfectly still pond.
The water reflected the soft light of the transford throne room and perhaps anything else one envisioned.
Ash lowered himself onto the grass beside it, then summoned a set of fine painting materials into existence—canvas, brushes, and rich pignts that hovered ready at his side.
Without another word, he dipped the brush and began to paint.
Emma watched for a mont before settling gracefully beside him. She had no idea what was coming, which only added to the mood.
The air between them felt peaceful, charged with quiet anticipation.
Ash painted in silence for a few strokes, then spoke.
"How do you feel about being an Empress?"
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