CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 619: Fifth Empire

After spending more than an hour thoroughly appreciating and inspecting every detail he could, Asher released yet another deep, fatigued sigh before smoothly levitating upward to where Malrik waited with a serene and steady smile, quietly observing his nearing younger brother with subtle amusement and curiosity.

"So?" Malrik inquired, as if eagerly anticipating Asher’s praises, responses, and exclamations of wonder at last.

Asher locked eyes with Malrik briefly, his thoughts racing through a barrage of intricate and profound inquiries. Following a quick moment of reflection, he chose to voice the one that had plagued him right from the start.

"How vast precisely is the world of Crymora?" Asher questioned. "I’m certain dozens of Crownstar Life Rankers span the Empires, perhaps even a hundred or beyond, so why hasn’t such immense power already obliterated the world?" He halted for a second, as if organizing his ideas meticulously, then pressed on, "how many boundless, perpetually growing forests exist that nobody bothers to notice or tally?" To Asher, this whole planet defied all logic completely; it just didn’t add up.

Malrik stayed quiet briefly, a subtle but insightful smile on his lips; he could plainly see this was the query weighing heaviest on Asher, which made perfect sense. Indeed, only keen and probing minds like Asher’s pondered such matters—most folks never did. After all, who really frets over the world’s dimensions?

"Truthfully, no one knows for sure," Malrik responded in a steady, deliberate voice, "no one’s ever taken the trouble to map out the world’s full extent; nobody has that kind of leisure or boredom. Everyone’s too consumed chasing strength and dominance," he explained, his gaze drifting gradually toward the limitless, far-off horizon.

"Yet, some lunatic once declared Crymora endless—or in his exact phrasing, ever-expanding and ceaselessly evolving—which actually seems plausible upon deeper reflection, though no solid proof backs it up. And once more, nobody cares sufficiently to probe it thoroughly," he stopped shortly, allowing Asher time to absorb the gravity of his statement.

"Given Crymora’s immense scale, there’s ample territory to forge a whole new Empire," Malrik went on, "and yes, folks have tried that long ago, only to get utterly crushed by us and the other Empires every time. Naturally, no one would stand by passively while a new force rises to challenge for resources; nobody welcomes a Fifth major power. The balance holds perfectly with the Four Empires as is."

Asher stayed completely silent, absorbing every word intently.

"Back in my youth, Father shared in a bedtime tale that one ancient Wargrave Primarch schemed to create a Fifth Empire, populated solely by those bearing the Wargrave bloodline," Malrik recounted fluidly, as if dredging up a faded memory.

Asher’s mind froze abruptly; he struggled to accept what he’d heard, unable to picture their father ever sharing bedtime stories with anyone. The man always appeared as an impassive, immovable stone in every encounter.

’Perhaps he was softer then—Big Brother, as the eldest, likely grasps Father far better than I do,’ he mused silently.

His focus then returned to Malrik’s prior remark, ’heck, a full Empire of Wargraves would be insanely overpowered; they’d get erased instantly—it’d be them versus the whole world,’ Asher pondered, blending skepticism with wry humor.

"Naturally, I can’t confirm if that tale holds truth or not; I could check our family archives easily, but I’ve never bothered. An ancient Primarch’s schemes mean nothing to me now," Malrik remarked offhandedly.

Asher nodded gradually, ’is Crymora genuinely boundless, or endlessly evolving and growing... maybe it adjusts to the very beasts it spawns, ensuring it survives its own dwellers,’ he contemplated profoundly.

"However, one thing I can assure you beyond doubt," Malrik’s voice rang out again, pulling Asher’s focus back, "when the Star Fragment crashed twenty thousand years back, we weren’t the sole beneficiaries; logically, our advancement meant the world evolved too, likely expanding in size. But the extent, or additional shifts from that evolution, escape my knowledge," Malrik declared, his eyes shifting from the horizon upward to the expansive sky, as if striving to gaze past it into the cosmos.

Asher’s thoughts instinctively recalled Cindralis’s words on the World Barrier and potential realms beyond. Witnessing Malrik gaze skyward right then, Asher wondered if his brother held deeper insights or had deduced something akin to Cindralis’s theory independently.

’Certainly, across Crymora’s entire history over these twenty thousand years, at least one person must have breached this planet’s bounds,’ Asher speculated inwardly, though without true conviction—just an informed hunch.

"More questions?" Malrik prompted, his eyes returning to Asher.

Asher lingered in his reflections a bit longer before inquiring, "which sub-Life Rank of the Crownstar Life Rank do you occupy now?"

He truly sought the answer: was Malrik at Radiant sub-Life Rank, approaching it, or still at the beginner Dust stage?

Malrik offered a slight smile before answering, "once you hit Crownstar Life Rank, spar with me and discover it firsthand," his tone laced with evident playfulness.

Asher lightly shook his head at Malrik’s teasing; why make a fuss over his sub-Life Rank? Couldn’t he just state it straightforwardly without the enigma?

"Moreover, who claimed I’ve even attained Crownstar Life Rank?" Malrik tossed in with a broad, mischievously perilous grin.

Those words left Asher’s mind reeling; he wouldn’t assume Malrik lagged below Crownstar Life Rank, nor dare imagine Voidstar or Soulstar Life Rank... leaving just one horrifying prospect: a power tier transcending all recognized world classifications.

Asher gaped at his brother, eyes brimming with raw astonishment; no words escaped him—he was utterly speechless and staggered.

Noting his brother’s shock, Malrik waved dismissively while saying, "I’m just kidding; no need for such alarm," shaking his head gently as his broad smile softened into his typical poised, assured expression.

Asher eyed his brother warily, unsure if it was genuine jest or an accidental slip now masked as humor. After brief silent musing, he shook his head faintly; no way to confirm the reality for certain.