Chapter 403: The Weight of Dying Stars! I

“Marshal Korvain Ashfall.”

The name emerged from Achilles’ lips like a key turning in heavy locks, carrying with it implications that reverberated through his consciousness long after the syllables had faded into the stellar waters around him.

His eyes opened slowly within the Sea of Thalassara, the purple radiance of Continuum Vision still flickering behind his pupils as the threads of observed possibility settled into memory.

What he had witnessed in those glimpsed futures sent waves of crimson fury through his enhanced awareness.

Marshal Ashfall’s reaction to the mention of the Adrastia Emperor King distinction had been immediate and visceral, his composed features cracking to reveal knowledge that ran deeper than casual familiarity!

This being knew something.

Something significant about his lineage, about the forces that had orchestrated the systematic genocide of his family across generations.

It was more than the reaction of King Edmond who only recognized the name as if it were a boogeyman.

The Marshal’s shock had been genuine, unguarded, and expressing connections between the Sovereign Void Imperium and his bloodline’s enemies that demanded immediate investigation.

Here was a thread that could lead him to the architects of his family’s destruction, a pathway into the hierarchies that had believed themselves safe from retribution!

But first, he needed to ensure this particular source of information survived the demonstration he was about to deliver.

Achilles rose from his throne of crystallized starwater, his movements still showing the weakness that came from sacrificing so much of his essential vitality to biological creation.

His hand found Arya’s silken hair, stroking the silver-green strands with gentle affection as he spoke.

“I will be back in a bit,” he said quietly, his voice carrying reassurance. “I need to see what happens next for myself.”

Before Rose or Arya could respond, space folded around his form with casual precision, and he simply ceased to exist in their immediate vicinity.

Mother and Daughter looked at each other as Arya smiled brightly and hugged her mother, telling her…

“Don’t worry about father! Some things…he just doesn’t want us to see.”

“Mmm…” Rose hugged her daughter as she smiled with a nod, her eyes shining brilliantly.

—

A number of light-years away, reality rippled as Achilles materialized atop the massive form of his most powerful design.

Compared to the moon-sized bulk of the Void-Born Thalassarian Sovereign, he appeared no larger than a grain of sand…but he was the consciousness that directed this biological weapon, the will that could command destruction on scales that defied conventional understanding!

The creature moved through space with predatory grace, its nine massive tentacles cutting through the void while wings of pure stellar energy carried them toward their target with inexorable purpose.

Ahead of them, the domain of the Five Kings of the Virgo Stellar Expanse spread out like a constellation of conquered power.

The crimson star body that served as their primary base pulsed, its surface carved and modified to accommodate the infrastructure of stellar conquest. Around it, fleets of vessels that had participated in the systematic harvest of countless civilizations maintained orbital patterns.

There were not billions of lives on this crimson star as the Five Kings did not like to live with those they considered weak lifeforms. Only their core forces were here!

But what drew Achilles’ attention was not the impressive display of naval power or the architectural modifications that had transformed a star into a fortress.

It was the knowledge of what those fleets and the lifeforms that operated them had done, the civilizations they had helped destroy, the countless lives that had been sacrificed to feed the appetites of beings who measured their worth in accumulated suffering.

These were not innocent bystanders caught in conflicts beyond their understanding.

These were willing participants in systematic genocide, entities who had made their choices and accepted the consequences of service to cosmic predators.

His awareness touched the minds scattered across the gathering forces…conversations filled with casual anticipation of future conquest, discussions of which worlds to target next, debates about how to maximize the harvest of sentient life while minimizing resistance.

They spoke of protecting their own families while deliberately targeting the families of others, reducing moral choice to simple arithmetic…us or them.

They had made their choice. Now he would make his.

The silence that surrounded him was not empty…..it was filled with the weight of decision, the moment before irrevocable action transformed possibility into reality. For the first time in his existence, he was about to order destruction on a planetary scale, to end tens of thousands of lives with a single command.

It marked another point of transformation in a journey that had already redefined what he thought possible. But unlike previous changes, this one carried moral weight that settled into his consciousness like gravity from dying stars.

With his eyes closed, he allowed himself one final breath to acknowledge what he was about to become. When he opened them again, they blazed with decisive purpose that showed no hesitation or uncertainty!

His hand settled against the massive surface of his design, feeling the pulse of power that waited for direction.

“Do it,” he said quietly, “Let me see…the Stellar Extinction Protocol.”

…!

The command was given. The die was cast!

Oh!

What followed would echo across nearby stars!

The nine tentacles of the Void-Born Thalassarian Sovereign began moving with synchronized precision, their massive forms twisting together. As they reached critical alignment, vibrations began emanating from their combined mass.

Then the waves began.

Extinction fields projected outward from the creature’s enhanced biology with the inexorable force of entropy given purpose and direction. They moved at speeds that transcended conventional physics, racing across the one light-year range of the ability with acceleration that compressed time and space around their passage!

These were not mere energy attacks or kinetic bombardments. They were concentrated manifestations of universal decay, fields that could accelerate the natural entropy of stellar matter until stars themselves guttered out like extinguished candles!

It was something extremely heavy to experience, and it had come to frution through the hands of the Adrastia Emperor King…and the inheritance of the Sea of Thalassara!

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