While Ash took a mont to enjoy so of his family, ti continued to flow. By the standards of Pantheos, a full one hundred thousand years would pass before they finished.
However, during that ti the other mbers of the Ineffable Pantheon — more notably the other wives — had been busy.
One in specific was the Goddess of Devouring Love.
Nia, along with Thalion and Elowen, stood at the center of what had once been her bubbling Endless Reality.
It was now vastly different.
The once-chaotic, ever-expanding domain had transford into a breathtaking starry expanse.
The only solid landmass that stretched literally without end was the colossal world built in Ash’s image — a single, vast plane of existence that dominated the center like a living monunt.
But the true spectacle — the thing that made this place the Eternal Lands — was the tens of pathways made of pure divinity stretching outward from the central world like radiant bridges into the starry void.
Each pathway glowed with a different color, representing a genre of a novel: deep crimson for dark fantasy, vibrant gold for epic adventure, shadowy black for horror, soft pastel for romance, and countless others stretching into the infinite distance.
Above these pathways, a little more than thirty blank novels hovered like celestial bodies around one much larger, central book — each one, novels waiting to be created.
Nia stood with her arms crossed, a satisfied smile on her face as she looked at the grand creation.
Thalion adjusted his eyeglass, gazing at the pathways with a mix of curiosity and awe.
"This is... remarkable," he murmured, his tone brimming with admiration.
"The Eternal Lands—where stories themselves form entire realms, each genre unfolding into its own endless plane. It’s almost unlike anything I’ve ever studied. We’ve turned narrative into a living landscape."
Elowen stood beside him, her eyes wide behind her glasses as she took in the sight, her voice soft with wonder.
"The blank novels hovering above... I’m assuming are for the pantheon mbers. And the central one... it’s connected to Ash, isn’t it?"
Nia nodded, her dark eyes shining with quiet pride as she gazed at the vast creation.
"Right," she said. "The blank novels above will be where we each create our own stories and, in turn, our own minor existences."
She paused, knowing—like everyone else—that Ash had been working on his own novel for quite so ti.
From what she understood, though, that character would co to life in the lowest parts of Pantheos.
’Hehe, Ashy loves novels so much. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind writing two of them,’ she thought with a small smile.
Then, outwardly,
"Once we finish this, it’ll be like a two-way bridge — a place where those who ascend the Endless Realities can step into sothing truly new. And yet, just another small step in the ever-expanding Pantheos."
Considering how much the verse had changed since it was just a simple Haven, she was certain the Eternal Lands would be only a small part of the bigger picture.
Thalion turned to her, his expression both serious and excited.
"Then let’s get it done. The sooner the Eternal Lands is complete, the sooner we can present it to His Majesty."
They disappeared in a swirl of light, reappearing on the vast, ever-expanding world shaped in Ash’s image — the central landmass of the Eternal Lands.
----
Nia waved her hands, calling forth two of the Ancestors she had slain during her devouring spree.
Ancestor Goku and Ancestor Popo appeared before them.
[A/N: Due to a certain reader’s suggestion in the Discord ;), for those who recall, I changed Ancestor Wukong’s na to Goku, as that’s who I had envisioned from the start. Just a little FYI.]
---
Goku looked like a humanoid battle monkey — muscular, with wild fur and a fierce, battle-hungry expression.
Popo, as a cultivator, had a unique appearance.
He was a chubby man with dark skin and bright red lips, his round figure standing in stark contrast to Goku’s lean, athletic build.
The instant they arrived and spotted Nia, Popo instinctively leapt back in obvious fear, his eyes widening in shock.
Goku, on the other hand, rely scoffed, flexing his fingers and cracking his knuckles, a confident grin spreading across his face.
"So, you’re finally giving the chance to fight you again?" he said, his tone brimming with eager anticipation.
Last ti, it could barely even be called a fight; after Nia consud the rank of that first Ancestor, the whole of Reality settled into silence with surprising ease.
So, when she heard his ridiculous words, Nia didn’t even bother to respond.
Instead, she addressed them in the Language of Gods, her voice carrying an effortless divine weight as she calmly assigned their new roles.
"From this mont forward, you two will beco the defenders of The Eternal Lands. You will make sure the balance between the Novels and the minor existences is maintained."
Seeing that she was beginning to lay down so rules, and without even knowing who these two n were, Thalion joined the conversation, speaking in the Language of Gods with a calm and precise voice.
"Also, the matters of the Lands do not concern you. Your only duty is to ensure no one is crazy enough to disturb the balance between the roads."
HUMMMM!!!!
Nia arched an eyebrow as he rudely interrupted her.
Thalion responded with a wry smile, clearing his throat before saying, "Ahem, my apologies," accompanied by a slight bow.
"Whatever, old man," she muttered under her breath.
Just then, a wave of divinity surged over both Goku and Popo, lifting them higher as their power escalated rapidly, climbing until it matched the Thirty-Second Dinsional Existence Level of Nia and the others.
Goku flexed his muscles, clearly impressed by his new strength, while Popo looked around in awe.
Nia then addressed Goku directly, her voice casual but firm as she gestured upward toward the hovering Novels in the starry expanse.
"In about ten trillion years, there will be a being that will co out of one of the Novels up top," she said, pointing to a particularly prominent one.
"The Novel that will be mine. If you can beat that woman one day... I will give you another fight."
Goku’s eyes lit up with battle lust, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"Deal!"
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