Jasmine awoke disoriented in an unfamiliar place, bumping her head on a mana-saturated stone wall that overwhelmed her senses. She discovered herself on a terrace overlooking a vast, layered dystopian city bathed in blue sunlight, its architecture defying gravity with hovering platforms and megastructures. Panicking at the thought of another scenario, she encountered a strikingly beautiful man with flowing silver hair and hypnotic silver-ringed black eyes, presuming him to be Pollux.
"Correct," he stated, his smile even more divine, causing Jasmine's heart to quicken its pace.
She suppressed her feelings, glaring at him.
It was peculiar—Jasmine possessed an affinity for fire. It was commonly said that those with fire affinities were passionate and easily angered. Yet, Jasmine never saw herself that way. If anything, she felt more akin to someone with an ice affinity—cool and controlled.
So, when a torrent of fireballs, fiery spears, waves of flame, and numerous other fire spells surged towards Pollux, it wasn't due to losing her temper.
No. She was completely aware. Entirely in command.
...Though that didn't mean it wasn't gratifying.
As Jasmine finally lowered her hand, the flames before her began to dissipate, dissolving into smoke. A dark silhouette emerged from within it.
Then, the silhouette raised a hand, and with a single, languid motion, the smoke dispersed.
Pollux stood there, unchanged, maintaining the same gentle, warm smile. His robes remained immaculate.
Even the terrace beneath them bore no mark.
"You are as aware as I am that your actions were futile."
Jasmine clicked her tongue, crossing her arms and snorting.
"So? It still made me feel better. Even if only a little."
Pollux chuckled, visibly amused, with no hint of animosity.
"Your anger is understandable, I suppose."
"Understandable?"
Jasmine's eyebrows arched, her glare intensifying.
"If I had the power, I would tear you to shreds and cast you into a pool teeming with flesh-eating Void Creatures."
"My, how spirited you are!"
This time, Pollux roared with laughter, his tone laced with arrogance.
Jasmine clenched her teeth, restraining herself from unleashing another barrage of fire at the being before her.
"So, where am I, and why did you bring me here?" she inquired impatiently, tapping her finger against her crossed arms. She made a conscious effort to ignore his persistent laughter—annoyingly reminiscent of her father's.
Pollux eventually quieted. He looked at her once more, his smile unwavering.
"Oh? Still haven't grasped it, little sun?"
Yet, what unnerved Jasmine was the profound gentleness of his smile, so contrary to his words and gaze. He appeared as someone incapable of causing her harm.
Pollux let out a soft, brief chuckle.
"You have no need to worry. You are simply within my mind."
His eyes glinted subtly.
"And all of this?" He gestured to their surroundings. "Well, this was once my world."
*****
"So you claim we have much to discuss, correct?" Jasmine stated drily. "Proceed. Or—unless you intend to kill me—then do it quickly. I have no interest in entertaining you."
"Kill you?" Pollux repeated, his tone genuinely amused. "I did mention I've desired a conversation with you for a considerable time, yet it seems you already suspect the worst of me."
Perhaps she did possess the fiery temper attributed to those with fire affinities—because it required immense effort to refrain from lunging at the Star Emperor and tearing him apart.
"For months, you tormented my younger brother," she retorted. "And you expect me to believe that instead of being the most malevolent god imaginable, you are, in fact, a benevolent and kind entity?"
Pollux scoffed.
"The term 'god' is used far too casually nowadays. It's almost lamentable. It has lost the weight of how truly perilous that word once was... though I suppose I wouldn't know firsthand."
His smile remained, faint and inscrutable.
"Furthermore, that individual you refer to as your 'little brother' has, simply by the mention of his name, instilled genuine fear in some of my associates. It is beginning to cause even me... unease."
They were seated at a table within the room—inside the unnervingly perfect house that Jasmine had been reluctant to enter. However, she had no alternative. Her choices were to defiantly oppose Pollux until he decided to end her life, or to sit down, accept the offered chair, and extract any useful information she could.
If nothing else, perhaps she might learn how to defeat him.
"Hah?" Jasmine barked. "Are you suggesting Azriel instills fear in you? Gods? Spirits? Devils? Whatever you beings are?" She leaned forward, raw fury blazing in her eyes. "Stop lying to me. Just confess that you are a repulsive wretch who only preys on the weak. A delusional charlatan."
Pollux simply offered her a calm grin, entirely unfazed by her outburst.
Jasmine's lips thinned into a severe line as she gazed at him with utter hatred, forcing herself to refrain from incinerating him on the spot.
"Ah, yes." Pollux's voice shifted to an almost conversational tone. "Summoning Lord Lucifer of the god-race was indeed a daring—and shrewd—move."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"However, it was precisely as I anticipated would occur. Which is why I was already prepared... and have already vanquished him."
Jasmine's heart turned to ice.
Her expression tightened.
"She?" Jasmine echoed sharply, the single word laced with a prickly edge.
Pollux paid her no mind, his demeanor shifting to one of icy hauteur.
"But do not dare equate me with those false deities. I am not of the same base lineage as those repulsive entities."
Jasmine’s teeth bared in a snarl.
"To me, you are all the same—despicable, cosmic charlatans," she spat viciously.
Pollux let out a brief laugh. Annoyingly, Jasmine found the sound pleasing to her ears, a fact that churned her stomach.
For the first time, it seemed she had genuinely provoked him. A subtle yet distinct tremor flickered at the edge of Pollux’s lips.
A surge of satisfaction coursed through Jasmine.
Immediately following was the fleeting, chilling thought that her head might soon be obliterated.
Yet, Pollux did not unleash an attack.
Instead, a long, disappointed sigh escaped him. He regarded her as something utterly beneath his notice.
"Very well," he conceded at last. "It appears I must enlighten you, if you are ever to grasp the magnitude of what you face."
His pale fingers tapped methodically against the polished tabletop. The soft clicks resonated through the quiet space.
Jasmine compelled herself to inhale. To blink. To swallow. Despite the overwhelming circumstances, her nerves remained taut, coiled like a spring.
Pollux then resumed speaking, his tone as placid as ever.
"Do you possess any knowledge of the total number of mana core levels that exist?"
Jasmine’s brow furrowed as she prepared to answer, then paused.
Coming to a realization, Jasmine shook her head.
"I do not know," she replied, not a trace of embarrassment in her voice.
Pollux’s lips curved into a pleased smile.
"An astute response."
For reasons unknown, Pollux rose and walked behind her chair, his fingertips brushing the edge as he moved. A sudden, palpable coldness emanated from him as he gazed at her, enough to make Jasmine’s body freeze in sheer panic, every minuscule hair on her skin standing on end.
The terrifying thought flashed through her mind instantaneously.
But it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
He did not kill her.
"Fifteen."
"What?"
"There are precisely fifteen mana core levels in existence."
Gradually, understanding dawned on Jasmine’s face, swiftly followed by dawning horror. Her eyes widened, trembling as she fought to process the information.
"F-fifteen?"
"Indeed."
"T-that... that signifies we are merely halfway there...?"
Pollux hummed, seemingly savoring the sound of her heart pounding with such intensity that he could likely hear it.
As the full weight of the shock settled upon her, he continued, his voice imbued with an indulgent quality, as if relishing her reaction.
"Dormant. Awakened. Intermediate. Advanced. Expert. Master. Grandmaster. Saint. And thereafter—Sovereign. The Sovereign rank," Pollux stated smoothly, "constitutes the eighth mana core level. It represents the pinnacle achieved by humans in your world."
"...Sovereign," Jasmine whispered, the foreign word rolling on her tongue as she instinctively moistened her dry, quivering lips.
Pollux’s gaze remained unwavering.
"The initial nine mana core levels fall under the purview of the First Divine Order. Your kind of humanity has yet to breach the threshold of the Second Divine Order."
"Divine Order?" Jasmine repeated, swallowing convulsively. Her apprehension intensified with each spoken word.
*How many more are there?*
It was as if Pollux had divined the question directly from her thoughts.
"There are three Divine Orders in total," he declared placidly.
"All united under the singular Divine Hierarchy."
"Three Divine Orders... the Divine Hierarchy...?" Jasmine’s throat constricted.
"W-wait—what lies beyond Sovereign?"
At this juncture, Jasmine could no longer restrain herself. Despite the profound shame and nausea she felt toward the individual who had inflicted suffering upon her younger brother, the knowledge imparted was too critical—she absolutely needed to absorb everything he was willing to reveal.
And Pollux, to her surprise, offered it willingly.
"Angel and Archangel. These classifications belong to the Second Divine Order."
Pollux then paused, a subtle shift occurring.
Jasmine’s heart hammered against her ribs with increased fervor.
He looked down at her, a peculiar, knowing smile playing on his lips.
"And as for the Third Divine Order..." he intoned, his voice gradually deepening, shedding any trace of its former gentleness, "it encompasses Seraphim, Cherubim, and..."
