Chapter 436: Just change species? II

The weight of those words settled into her consciousness like the gravitational pull of a collapsing star!

“He killed them. All of them. Every soul who aided in hunting the last sighted Adrastia Taboo. Even their Emperor has perished.”

…!

Lydia’s jaw tightened imperceptibly. Around her, the children had begun to relax slightly as nothing immediately threatening happened, though they still watched the Butler with wary fascination.

“He walks a path of revenge,” she responded, her mental voice carrying complex emotions—understanding, sorrow, and something that might have been grim approval.

“And rightly so. Those who participated knew that eventually, payment would come due. But…” Lydia’s mental sigh resonated through their connection.

“Revenge, no matter how justified, has a way of consuming more than just its intended targets. The ripples of his actions will spread.”

Lydia stood smoothly, her movement causing the children to look up at her with confusion and nascent worry. Her mental conversation continued even as she offered them a reassuring smile.

“We need to go to the Sovereign Void Imperium,” she declared with the finality of stellar judgment. “To assess the situation firsthand. To understand what the Last Emperor King intends beyond mere vengeance.”

…!

“Shall I prepare the Radiant Armada?” the Butler inquired.

“No. Too aggressive. This requires subtlety, at least initially.” She paused, considering. “Have the Chancellors made any moves?”

“Not yet,” the Butler responded, though his mental tone suggested this was more concerning than reassuring.

“Their silence speaks volumes. Either they’re waiting to see how events unfold, or they’re preparing something we haven’t anticipated.”

“Then we move now, while the board is still in flux.”

Their mental exchange concluded, and Lydia turned her full attention back to the children who watched her with expressions ranging from curiosity to concern. She knelt again, bringing herself to their eye level, her armor dimming further until she seemed almost normal, almost mortal.

“I’m afraid something has come up that requires my immediate attention,” she said, her voice gentle but carrying an undertone of truth that even the youngest could recognize. “But I’ll be back soon.”

“You’re leaving?” The girl with sunset eyes couldn’t quite hide the disappointment in her voice.

“Only for a little while.” Lydia’s gaze swept across all their faces, memorizing each one as if she might need to carry their images with her into whatever came next.

“Continue your studies. Master Chen will be here soon for your afternoon lessons. Show him the same focus you would show me.”

She stood, and for a moment, her true nature blazed through…not the general who commanded fleets, not the warrior who had brought entire civilizations to their knees, but the woman who had seen too many children orphaned by wars they never asked for and had decided that someone, somewhere, needed to ensure they had more than just survival.

“Be good,” she said, the words carrying weight beyond their simplicity. “Be strong. Be kind to each other. Remember that you are children of heroes, but more importantly, you are yourselves, with your own destinies to forge.”

HUUM!

With that, she turned and strode toward the cathedral’s entrance, the Butler falling into step beside her like a shadow remembering it had dimension.

As they passed through the doors made of crystallized starlight, she paused for just a moment, looking back at the cathedral she had built with her own resources, paid for with the spoils of a hundred victories, maintained through careful manipulation of Sovereignty bureaucracy.

The Cathedral of Forgotten Stars continued to pulse with its gentle rhythm, sheltering those the Infinite Radiance Sovereignty had forgotten in its relentless pursuit of cosmic dominance.

And as Lydia disappeared into the stellar winds that would carry her toward whatever chaos thr Adrastia Emperor King had unleashed, the children pressed against the transparent walls, watching until even her light faded into the infinite distance.

—

In the Sea of Thalassara, where waters that had never known terrestrial shores expanded with inexorable patience, a different kind of transformation was being contemplated.

There was…a silent moon.

The moon upon which Rose and Hive Queen Kythara sat was nothing like the celestial bodies that orbited normal worlds.

Around them, the Sea of Thalassara crept higher, its luminescent waters already lapping at the moon’s lower hemisphere, promising that within hours this temporary refuge would be claimed, transformed, made part of the ever-expanding aquatic paradise.

Kythara lounged with the predatory grace of something that had evolved beyond the need for traditional physical form, her body a constant flux of chitinous plates and bio-metallic segments that rearranged themselves according to whims incomprehensible to static beings.

Her multifaceted eyes…dozens of them, each one capable of perceiving different spectrums of reality, studied Rose with an intensity that would have been uncomfortable if not for the genuinely mischievous smile that played across her surprisingly human-like lips.

“You seem troubled, thinking about many things that weight upon that fiery mind of yours,” Kythara observed, her voice a harmony of tones as if multiple versions of herself were speaking in careful coordination.

“What I don’t understand is why you have to continue the search for more Mates for your own Destined Mate? Surely one such as thr Taboo of Adrastia I’ve only heard of could find ways around such limitations?”

Rose rolled her eyes, though the gesture carried more fond exasperation than genuine annoyance.

She adjusted her position on the moon’s surface, her emerald flames flickering.

“The Adrastia Emperor King Lineage,” Rose began, her tone taking on the quality of someone who had spent considerable time researching something that personally affected her, “is only viable to produce progeny with a single species. It’s not a limitation that can be overcome through power or will, believe me- I’ve been trying. It’s written into the fundamental structure of their existence, a safeguard perhaps, or maybe a curse. Either way, it means that for the lineage to continue, to grow strong enough to face whatever’s coming, different species are required.”

Kythara blinked…a fascinating process that involved each of her dozens of eyes closing in a wave pattern that created a brief spiral of darkness across her face. When they opened again, they held a quality of surprise mixed with sudden understanding.

“Oh?” The word emerged with genuinely intrigued inflection. “But…” She paused, her form shifting slightly as if reorganizing her thoughts along with her physical structure. “The many specialized members of my Kythernai Swarm can be considered all different species, though?”

…!

“…”

Rose turned to look at her fully, interest sparking in her green eyes like stellar ignition.

Kythara continued, her excitement building with each word. “Because I exclusively have an ability to allow members of my swarm to take on different traits. That is how I designed my Apex Guard. Each one can be considered a distinct type of species based on the materials I used to make them. The bio-metal amalgamations, the stellar materials, the crystalline-organic hybrids, the pure energy constructs given flesh…they’re all fundamentally different at the genetic level, yet they’re all still part of my swarm.”

The implications buzzed in the air between them like a possibility taking shape.

Rose’s eyes shone brightly, the emerald fire that constantly danced around her form suddenly burning with increased intensity. “Can you…freely change the species of others as well?”

The question emerged with barely contained eagerness. “Maybe temporarily alter her species? The biological markers, the genetic signatures…could you manipulate them?”

Kythara’s form went still. Her consciousness expanded, touching upon the vast repository of genetic knowledge she had accumulated over eons of evolution and experimentation.

Several of her eyes closed while others opened, as if she was examining the question from multiple dimensional perspectives simultaneously.

“Well…” she said slowly, her voice taking on thoughtful waves, “it should be possible?”

…!

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