Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power Chapter 405: Meeting with the First Celestial [2]
Previously on Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power...
Chapter 405 – Meeting with the First Celestial [2]
Sora entered the vortex of heavenly power swirling in hues of blue, gold, and white. The realm rippled faintly, resembling a veil of deceptive mirage.
In a flash, she arrived in an entirely new domain.
Beneath her feet lay a bed of mysterious golden grains, yielding softly underfoot while radiating a luster that captured the essence of distant stars.
All around, a turbulent, tangible surge of force churned and coiled, akin to the slithering strikes of a serpent.
Above, a captivating vista seized Sora's thoughts. Her breathing hitched sharply. Without thinking, her lips parted in awe at the expansive scene.
There, against a pristine white expanse, the sun and moon hung in harmony, their radiance beaming down upon her.
The sun's golden glow enveloped her in warmth, as the moon's pale silver-blue sheen tempered her form. This duality held her essence in flawless equilibrium, poised between searing heat and icy chill; between divine grace and infernal depths.
"A woman?" An ancient yet vibrant tone thundered into Sora’s ears. She trembled, whipping her gaze toward the source.
Far up in the heavens, positioned between those luminous orbs, a figure of gleaming gold-white radiance, speckled with twinkling stars, perched upon a slender thread woven from the pure cores of sun and moon.
His face lacked any defining traits save for his eyes—one shaped like the sun, the other a crescent moon—while a stellar emblem was inscribed upon his brow.
"When did I last admit a woman?" the embodiment of Aster declared. "Ah, yes, that young ApolloniaofBrightSky, wasn't it? No, wait! I'm mixing up eras. This must be Apollonia Shamsi, the inaugural Empress from my lineage."
"And the moment it transpired..."
He halted, fixing his stare on Sora, whose inherited blood roared within her, compelling her to kneel as if defiance itself profaned this sacred ground.
She resisted the urge to submit. Her gaze remained defiant and icy, her mouth set in a firm, unyielding line as she faced Aster.
Aster appeared to chuckle, though his blank visage revealed no trace of it.
"...the previous occasion a woman commanded my realm, my cherished Sora, led to utter devastation. The moon—nay, my own moon—perished amid the ruin."
"So why would I endorse your reign?"
"Why refuse?" Sora countered, holding her posture rigid, or striving to. "I am the Heiress of the Sun, the sole claimant fit for the throne."
"If not me, then who else?"
"I am the source of your lineage, child," Aster responded, "and you overlook—or perhaps ignore—a vital detail."
As his final words faded, Sora's head bowed involuntarily, her spine curved with a sharp snap, her legs buckled and groaned before plunging into the yielding golden dust.
Her eyes bulged in sheer terror. No force pressed upon her, no might compelled her submission.
Still, she yielded.
It felt as though her being was never destined to stand upright before Aster.
"You stand before a deity," Aster pressed on, revealing a stark reality to Sora in that very moment,
"And you remain merely human. So lower your head."
Sora uttered no reply, her thoughts still reeling in shock.
The First Celestial wasted no time for her recovery. He delved further into his heir, spotting an unfamiliar element.
"Kol’Riku..." Aster inclined his form. "You've gained the favor of the Voice of Existence. How intriguing. Who could imagine that hermit taking notice of a mere human? And one of my own line, at that?"
He let out a booming guffaw, resonant and triumphant, causing the entire domain to quake.
Sora stayed mute, her stare blazing with furious intensity. She clenched her jaw, her hands fisting hard, flames flickering from the edges of her lips.
Those flames rose from her frame like billowing chimney exhaust.
She opened her mouth. "I will—!"
"I can't linger here much longer. Let's conclude this," Aster stated, his tone shifting to gravity. "A catastrophe unfolded, young Sora. A disaster across a timeline that shattered my dominion. Where Apollonia let me down."
Sora quivered, her thoughts racing to the visions passed down from Lady Sora.
Aster perceived it and sneered. "So you're aware of the incident. But how? Oh, Sora... Sora..."
His expression broadened into a grin.
"Ah, Providence acts like such a temptress these days. Yet it's ideal."
"Apollonia betrayed my expectations," Aster explained. "She possessed skill and guile, her grasp of the Celestial Pathway far beyond the ordinary. But in you, I discern greater potential, and a path to reclaim my forfeited glory."
"W-What?" Sora forced out, her features twisted in effort.
"My empire lies in fragments, the White Phoenix I ensnared now roams unbound," Aster's words carried veiled rage. "Even the Black Phoenix I confined within a vessel has escaped. And it all stems from a single culprit."
The following name struck Sora's psyche like a thunderous strike.
"Prometheus."
Breath escaped her grasp, as she absorbed Aster's declarations like a devotee heeding divine revelation.
"Here's the matter, young Sora," he went on, and at that, Sora sensed she could raise her gaze.
She lifted it. Twin divine orbs pierced down at her, diminishing her to a mere obstacle in their path.
"You shall become the second Empress of the Empire," he proclaimed. "I shall grant you heightened bloodline refinement, bolstering your core. In return, I demand one favor."
He extended his forefinger skyward, and the heavens split open like a garment torn aside.
"I demand the Heart of Prometheus, the Flame of Humanity."
"No!" Sora roared, her cry echoing with fury. "I won’t—!"
"And who said you possessed any say in this?" Aster's features twisted into a sinister grin, stretching impossibly to frame his eyes.
Overwhelming fear gripped Sora, rooting her body in place while her senses clouded and swirled, as if drowned in endless cycles of revelry.
Gradually, the world around her faded into haze, her eyelids drooping until darkness claimed her, the final echo being Aster's icy, haughty timbre,
"Mortals hold no options. Least of all those tied to my blood."
She collapsed forward onto her face. With a casual snap of his digit, Aster summoned a torrent of molten golden brilliance that surged forth, infusing into Sora's form like rain into parched earth.
Aster's smile lingered as he shut his eyes, sensing a profundity beyond mortal ken.
Yet beneath the layers of Sora’s attire, the necklace bestowed by Kaden emitted a faint, subtle shimmer.
...
At the same time, distant from the heart of the capital, a pair of youths—a man and a woman—dashed across a rugged expanse of jagged stone.
A quietude, broken only by the whipping gusts against their cheeks, hung between Rea and Kaden.
A quiet each had grown accustomed to.
From their leave-taking in Silver City, scarcely any conversation passed between them beyond the barest necessities.
Rea preferred solitude. At times, Kaden caught her murmuring, undoubtedly to Einar.
He never remarked on it, though occasionally he'd attempt light banter to ease the monotony of their flight.
Rea showed little interest in such exchanges.
Thus, he relented. And so...
"At this pace, we'll hit the Frosted Bridge in three days if we push hard, or five if we ease off," she noted, then lapsed back into quiet.
These days, her words served chiefly to update him on their route.
Kaden exhaled wearily, pondering his knack for drawing eccentric female company.
"Bloody hell!"
They say knowing your destination ensures a smooth journey.
Those wise ones overlooked the crucial role of travel mates.
Kaden swore again.
—End of Chapter 405—