1069 Eden
The solar system was slowly coming to the notice of the Barix Province.
Barix Province was bigger than Human Empire. It consists of three star systems with a total of twelve life planets and a population amounting to two hundred billion.
But this would be insignificant in front of Centaurus Duchy housing trillions of lives. However, even that would be insignificant in front of the Kingdom containing more than a hundred Duchies.
And there were several such Kingdoms under each of the three Empires that rule the Milkyway Galaxy. Their adversary was the overlord of the Andromeda Galaxy.
All their adventures, wars, and interactions were limited to the two main galaxies and the bunch of smaller satellite galaxies around them.
As a whole, this region, known as the Local Group—the collection of the neighboring galaxies including the Milkyway—to humans was called by another name since antiquity by the great powers.
It's called…
Eden.
The garden once walked by the gods and abandoned. It had been so long that the beautiful garden—the cradle of all civilization where the first six tribes were born—had rotten into a lawless jungle.
The Alliance and the Jai Empire both claim themselves the rightful owners of this divine expanse.
The conflict had been going on for longer than anyone could remember. Most would not live to see the next chapter of this grand war. But some decide the course of it.
At the center of a satellite galaxy near Andromeda lay a palace. Spanning as long as the eye could see, it stood imposingly and shone brighter than any star ever could.
The servants of the palace worked diligently, cleaning the floors, walls, and gates—each of which was built with materials so rare that even they couldn't even be found on the black market, and even if someone did find them, they wouldn't dare to sell.
It was a harmonious sight. Sovereign handymen did the lowest of chores while the weaker among Celestials managed as handymen.
Deep inside the palace, in one of the large chambers, a sensual dance was going on.
The Queens of Kingdoms were the main dancers while the Duchesses acted as the background dancers.
One of those background dancers was the Zion Matriarch.
She moved her arms gently like a serene river before turning faster and faster like a raging flood. All her focus and strength were directed into this one dance she had been preparing for years.
Time seemed to slow down. Each moment mattered. This was it. Her life's defining moment.
…And the dance ended before she even knew it.
Like all the women around her, she knelt on the platform and bowed her head to the man watching them with interest from afar.
The 7th Prince didn't speak. His eyes lingered around his playthings for a moment and interest appeared when he noticed one of the new members.
But it quickly vanished as something far more alluring drew his interest.
The 7th Prince disappeared from the satellite galaxy and appeared in Andromeda Galaxy and headed straight to the Divine Palace in the capital of the Jai Empire.
— — — —
"I miss you, my dear sibling." As the seventh prince walked down the stellar path, built out of star cores, a pleasant voice rang from the side.
A silhouette emerged out of nowhere and walked beside him.
It was illusory, not through the use of any psychic power but because of its existence oscillating between layers of space.
The 7th Prince maintained his movements without any reaction.
"Why don't you respond, my dear brother?" The silhouette moved away from him and its voice dropped.
The world around them twisted and a dozen fist-sized black holes appeared around the 7th Prince.
Built with powers beyond the reach of even Celestials, even a finger-sized blackhole could devour the entire solar system. And the 7th Prince faced the blackholes much larger and many more in number.
He casually swatted them away and kept moving forward. Each step crossed several lightyears yet he kept walking.
"What arrogance!" Following the deep shrill, the glowing, sparkling, glittering starry surroundings went dark.
The two appeared in a dwarf galaxy.
The 7th Prince's eyes finally narrowed and it elicited a chuckle from the silhouette.
"Come talk!"
A long cut appeared in the space, stretching for countless light years. Dozens of star systems in the way were just ripped apart. Stars, planets, asteroids—anything and everything the space cut touched were shredded to pieces.
The 7th Prince exhaled and his eyes began to glow. The world around him twisted and the silhouette chuckled in anticipation.
As the fight was about to begin, a snort sounded from everywhere and nowhere. Then, they instantly appeared in a throne hall.
The hall was a piece of art, glowing with divine light that even the highest celestial wouldn't dare to see.
It was built in a self-contained space, containing smaller stars carved exclusively for this usage. There were also several black holes, wormholes, and others. But their presence didn't create any chaos in the hall. They were perfectly under 'control'.
It was less of a Throne Hall and more of a Cosmic Chamber.
"Your Majesty," The 7th Prince bowed to the throne he didn't dare to look in the eye and took his seat.
As expected, there were important Princes, Princesses, Officials, and powerhouses, all gathered today.
"The slivers made another appearance." A voice came from high above. It was plain and carried no emotion as if it discussing just a daily thing.
The 7th Prince squinted and wondered. 'They appeared a while ago, then…'
"They appeared in Lumen Empire…in a poor region, inside a double star system…infested by a weak humanoid race." The voice paused from time to time as if it was reading a script from an incomplete source. "The slivers…sent a message to the cosmos…they seek unification."
Everyone looked up at the throne in instinctual shock but lowered their heads as quickly as the divine light struck their eyes.
That being...was the closest existence to a God. Perhaps he would be the God tomorrow.
"Prepare to search every double star system. Do not give the Alliance any respite. Push our forces forward, keep them on their toes. The slivers will unify, Eden will bloom once again and it'll happen under my rule."
With one order from the strongest being, the course of events completely changed.
