Chapter 425: I, Adrastia, Have Returned! I

The domain that should have been the most fortified location within the Sovereign Void Imperium fell into a silence so profound it seemed to swallow sound itself.

The oppressive weight of recognition pressed against every consciousness present!

All entities maintained their terrifying gravitational pressure on Achilles, waves of force that should have compressed him into a singularity of matter too dense for normal physics to accommodate.

Yet he stood unaffected, his enhanced perception observing each face with the methodical precision of someone reading from a carefully prepared list.

When his voice echoed through the crystalline vastness, it carried undertones that made reality itself lean forward to listen.

“Emperor Vorthak,” he began, his words resonating through dimensional barriers with surgical precision. “General Kythara Voidheart. Marshal Drennis Starbane. Admiral Zephyr Cosmicfall. Commander Shadowmaw…”

Each name fell into the chamber like a stone dropped into still water, creating ripples that touched every consciousness present!

Some of those named stood among the assembled forces, their enhanced features shifting between defiance and growing comprehension. Others had perished in battles against the Kythernai Swarm, their final moments now carrying entirely new significance.

Still others commanded distant territories, unaware that their past choices had just been catalogued by forces beyond their ability to challenge.

Achilles paused, allowing the weight of recognition to settle over his audience like atmospheric pressure from a collapsing star.

When he continued, his voice carried the calm certainty of inevitability itself.

“All of these people,” he said, his stellar eyes moving from face to face with deliberate precision, “and those they commanded who used their power to continue injuring my father, will undoubtedly be dying here today.”

…!

The silence that followed was filled with the weight of consequences finally arriving!

The Grand Emperor remained seated upon his throne of compressed celestial bodies, but his posture had shifted subtly. Where before he had projected casual authority mixed with growing concern, now his expression carried something approaching respectful attention mixed with grim acceptance.

When he spoke, his voice maintained its regal bearing.

“I have read records and history,” he said, each word carefully chosen and weighted with accumulated wisdom. “I know the taboo and destruction of the Adrastia Emperor King Lineage has occurred many times across cosmic ages. Not once has anything built by Adrastia survived the eventual response of greater powers.”

His gaze met Achilles’ directly, cosmic authority acknowledging cosmic authority despite the vast differences in their circumstances.

“Your father. Your grandfather, and those before them. All fell to forces that operated beyond their ability to resist, no matter how magnificent their individual capabilities or how vast their accumulated empires.”

The Emperor’s voice took on undertones that might have been genuine counsel rather than strategic manipulation. “You can start all this again. We could battle here until both sides perish, or even if you manage to eliminate us entirely… then what?”

The question blazed in artificially controlled atmosphere like suspended judgment waiting for wisdom to assert itself over vengeance.

“What is to prevent what happened to previous empires of Adrastia Emperor Kings from happening to you? You may be powerful now against us, but as you yourself acknowledged, we are simply subordinate forces. The Infinite Radiance Sovereignty and the Void Dominion Empire… we are tributaries that merely suckle up to them for survival.”

His gesture encompassed not just the assembled forces but the vast territories that stretched beyond their immediate perception.

“There are dozens like us scattered across star sectors, and any forces of the Infinite Radiance Sovereignty and the Void Dominion Empire that will be sent against you will simply snuff you out with overwhelming superiority. Death is death as we all will perish someday, but for you… how about you make different choices compared to your ancestors?”

…!

Achilles smiled at the Emperor’s words, his expression carrying appreciation.

The Emperor of the Sovereign Void Imperium was someone who could maintain composure and offer strategic counsel even while facing personal extinction.

Such intellectual courage deserved acknowledgment.

“You know,” Achilles said, his voice taking on conversational tones that somehow made his presence more rather than less threatening, “this whole time, I’ve been wondering about the best way to go about things. You’re absolutely correct…previous generations of Adrastia Emperor Kings were hunted after they became known. They were pursued like rabid beasts as everything they built was systematically destroyed.”

His stellar eyes began blazing with radiance that cast new patterns of light and shadow across the chamber’s crystalline architecture.

“So this time around, I plan to do it differently. I will not wait to be hunted, to be prey cowering in hidden corners of reality while overwhelming forces gather against me.” His smile sharpened into something that could have cut through dimensional barriers!

“I will hunt. All those responsible, starting with you.”

BOOM!

The distinction was subtle but fundamental!

He would not simply have reactive defense against systematic persecution, but proactive elimination of threats before they could organize effective response, and even after!

“Do not worry,” he continued with courtesy that made his words somehow more ominous than explicit threats. “Since death comes for us all eventually, I will simply bring yours faster. I will even allow you to pass on a message, because not everyone here will die today.”

His gaze swept across the assembled forces with precision that sorted them into categories…those whose participation in past crimes demanded immediate consequences, and those whose survival would serve larger strategic purposes.

“Those of you who don’t perish in the next few minutes, you will pass on my message, won’t you?”

He looked specifically toward several Empyrean Star Nexus Transcendence entities whose enhanced features reflected growing comprehension mixed with terror. Crown Prince Litchfield and Princess Miara stood beside their father’s throne, their expressions carrying the particular horror of those watching their entire understanding of hierarchy collapse in real-time.

“After I am done here,” Achilles continued “I want those who survive to let your neighbors know. Tell the Tributaries of the Infinite Radiance Sovereignty and the Void Dominion Empire. Tell the forces of the Infinite Radiance Sovereignty and the Void Dominion Empire themselves…”

His voice rose slightly, taking on waves that made the crystalline walls ring with sympathetic vibrations!

“Tell them that I, the Adrastia Emperor King, have returned! That Adrastia has returned!”

…!

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