From the planet's surface, a shadow rose.

A dark figure, tall, broad-shouldered. A sword gleamed faintly in his grasp, reflecting starlight off its obsidian edge.

Vast black wings unfurled behind him, each feather scattering ripples of space and energy like tidal waves across the void.

His eyes burned like twin embers, filled with fury.

"VEYTHAR!"

His voice thundered across the void.

"You dare break our pact?! You swore my world would remain untouched—"

But when his gaze locked onto Adrian, the rage faltered.

Confusion flickered across his features.

"You… are not him."

He tilted his head, wings spreading wider as if to shield the planet behind him.

"Another Stellar?"

His sword rose, pointing directly at Adrian.

"How did you enter this system? These stars belong to the Emerald Serpent Clan."

Adrian met his gaze.

"Veythar is dead. I killed him. By galactic law, his systems and resources are now mine."

The black-winged Stellar stared at him, silent for a long moment.

Then his lips twisted into something between disbelief and mockery.

"Impossible."

He shifted his stance, sword lowering slightly but not sheathing.

"I lived under that serpent's shadow for centuries. Even I could not kill him. And yet you, so young, claim this?"

"If this is a lie, it is a poor one."

Adrian's voice remained steady.

"It is the truth."

The Stellar's sword tilted slightly, his gaze glinting coldly beneath the shadow of his brow.

"Truth or lie, it matters little."

His essence flared, corrosive green mixing with the darkness around him.

"No one touches this world. Not while I stand."

Adrian didn't waver, "I have no ill intentions."

The Stellar's wings rustled, his gaze glinted coldly beneath the shadow of his brow.

"No ill intentions?"

He gestured sharply with his blade toward the planet below.

"Then why wrap my world in your essence? That is no gesture of peace, that was conquest."

Adrian inclined his head slightly, acknowledging the accusation.

"You misunderstand. I have been gathering my clan's worlds into one capital system."

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He turned, gesturing across the starfield where empty orbits marked the absence of planets.

"Look. Other planets from this star system, I've already moved them."

The Stellar's eyes narrowed, but he closed them, reaching out with his senses.

His expression shifted slightly when he felt the truth of it.

Worlds, dozens of them, were gone. Their gravitational traces trailed across light-years.

Adrian continued, "I meant to move yours as well. But if you do not wish it, I will not force you."

He met the Stellar's burning gaze directly, "I'll step away."

Seeing this Stellar, protecting his world alone against the galaxy, reminded Adrian of Sentinel.

A single guardian standing between civilization and annihilation.

So Adrian added, his voice softer now.

"If one day you decide to build a clan and wish to purchase this system, you may contact the Origin Clan."

That made the Stellar pause.

His wings folded slightly, uncertainty flickering across features carved from stone and shadow.

His thoughts churned behind those burning eyes.

"No clan willingly yields a star system. Veythar hoarded his. Every ruler demands submission. Yet this one… withdraws?"

Slowly, his sword lowered.

The corrosive essence around him dimmed, no longer lashing out.

Adrian began to turn away, ready to depart through the void.

"You're really leaving?" The Stellar's voice broke the silence.

Adrian paused, looking back over his shoulder.

"You truly intend to withdraw? Even when this system is yours?"

"What trick is this? Do you take me for a fool?"

Adrian's gaze stayed calm, steady as the void around them, "I said I had no ill intentions. If your world wishes to stand apart, then it will."

The Stellar's wings flexed slowly, he thought back to the past, to the pact he had made centuries ago.

Back then, this world had belonged to no one.

He was a Stellar even then, but he just wanted peace and lived a quiet life, until it was broken by Veythar purchasing his star system.

But Veythar had wanted something, a glimpse into the Corrosive Concept that he wielded.

So they fought.

The battle had carved canyons across three moons and shattered an entire asteroid belt.

And that was how the pact was born.

An exchange, Veythar would study his corrosion in controlled duels, and in return, the planet would remain untouched.

To master a second affinity, dual essence wielders each walked a unique path. Some sought enlightenment through meditation spanning millennia.

But Veythar learned through battle, through tasting another's concept with his blade.

That was their agreement, an exchange of essence. And when Veythar won, he spared the planet.

After that, for centuries, his planet was under the Emerald Serpent Clan's protection, but now that Veythar was dead, things changed.

A lone planet in a star system without any protections would bring many predators.

His wings unfolded again, feathers glimmering faintly.

"Your offer to withdraw… it shows you are not Veythar. Not like the others."

Then his tone changed, edged with something sharper. "If I stay here, this world will not last long. The Serpent's shadow kept predators away, but that shadow is gone."

He gestured toward the mist-veiled planet below.

"Already, others will be watching. My people will not survive another Veythar. My world won't last another war."

For now, the only solution he could come up with was to go with this young Stellar's plan.

But he did not want to let a stranger move his planet.

He raised his left hand, and space folded around his palm. A second essence shimmered beneath it, pure, steady space essence.

It was not just Veythar. From their battles, he too had comprehended space.

Adrian's eyes narrowed. "Another dual essence wielder."

"So I will move. But not because I trust you. Because my people cannot remain carrion in a dead serpent's den."

"I will move my own world," the Stellar said firmly. "But understand, my people will not serve your clan. We will not bow."

Adrian accepted without argument.

"Then we will not interfere."

The Stellar studied him, searching for deception, manipulation, the hidden hooks that always came with power.

Then, slowly, a faint smile crossed his face.

"Hmph. Perhaps you truly are different."

He lowered his sword slightly.

"I'm Azrael."

Adrian gave a short nod.

"Adrian."

Without another word, Azrael spread his wings. The void rippled as his dual essences ignited, corrosion and space fusing into an eerie harmony.

The planet below shuddered, rising beneath him like a living thing.

Adrian followed, guiding the trajectory silently.

Azrael moved the planet with incredible speed, crossing the Orion Arm border in less than a day. Even Aurelia at her peak couldn't have matched him.

Midway through their journey, Azrael glanced toward him.

"You're building your capital far from the galactic routes. That's dangerous. Demons raid these edges often."

Adrian's gaze stayed forward.

"Being far from Aethelia's routes means independence."

Azrael's tone grew faintly sardonic.

"Independence? This is still Aethelian space. They'll never let you forget that."

Adrian didn't reply.

They flew in silence after that, two Stellars crossing the endless dark, carrying a world between them.

One seeking to build. The other seeking to protect.

And this would be the final block piece of the Origin capital.