★269
In due course, Elara created Elyvra, and Belenos made Solaria. Their respective and first Domains in the Pond.
In the midst, a few more Stars spawn within the Drops this time, which means they're not going to be as strong as us. And slowly, the World begins to populate.
Elara made servants, celestial and spiritual hybrids call l Angels and Archangels, while most of the Stars settled in Solaria. That doesn't mean there are no Stars in Elyvra, but the majority of them are in Solaria. With a few scattered around the Drops.
(The First Scorpios Constellation Stars, Arcab & Al Niyat were among them.)
As the Realm's stillness developed and expanded, I was summoned to the throne room after what seemed like eternity once again.
I went to the throne room and waited for the Great Light. No bowing and kneeling, so I simply stood with my eyes closed.
"A new Star has been born."
He said, appearing beside the throne. He never sat on it because he's already supreme without a throne, kingdom, or crown.
"I eas summoned here, meaning he's going to be like us. But..."
I paused, my awareness really expanding but there was no new signature.
"...I cannot sense his presence."
"You can't. That's because it is Absence. What you'll be encountering is merely a radioactive nonexistent vessel."
"Nonexistent?"
He nodded,
"The Abyss exists below the Pond. Go and see it."
And so I was dismissed, and from the Garden, I appeared at the lowest level of the Pond observing the Abyss I never knew was present.
'Radioactive nonexistent vessel means a container that does not exist in any tangible sense, yet somehow emits or radiates unstable, powerful energy. From the name itself, it'll be bad news.'
I stared down into the Abyss, a bottomless pit of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.
"Yuánlì is present, but it exists. The paradox, the void."
I dived at max speed, and the moment I lost sight of the Pond's, it appeared.
As I drifted deeper into the Abyss, it seemed to fold inward with me. His face hovered inches from mine, moving backwards effortlessly. Caught off guard, I froze, and in that moment, he vanished.
'How can I be of use to His Grace when I might be best by this guy in the Abyss?'
I cursed inwardly at my inability to interact with the void.
"His Grace wishes for your presence. I'm here to deliver you."
"Is that all you are, a messenger?"
His low voice can be heard throughout the Abyss. I can feel it. It's going to attack. No, it's attacking.
A void spare appeared in front of me with no distance left for it to make a hole in my face.
'Void weaponry. Yuánlì-based attacks are ineffective, right? But not all energy.'
My fist glowed with a faint golden aura, and I opened my golden eyes, deflecting the spare with my palm while my right hand clenched into fists, ready to throw the punch
'He's the void, so he's everywhere in the Abyss. Hitting the vessel will do no good, in that case.'
"Let me hit it."
I whispered the final sentence before my fist made contact with nothingness, releasing a spark of golden light. There was no shockwave or crash, but I hit something.
He appeared before me, a man dressed in black, his skin pure white, giving him the eerie appearance of a living black-and-white figure. A four-pointed star marked his forehead, identical to Belenos's, yet dark as night. Long black hair framed his face, adorned with grey ornaments, and his eyes remained closed.
In a nutshell, he was Belenos's evil counterpart. I couldn't help but wonder, were they truly opposites?
"You somehow interacted with the nonexistent. But as you should know..."
He paused, his arm already regenerated.
"Voids can't be obliterated."
He gave me the little time I needed, and without his consent, I pulled him out of the Abyss appearing in the Garden.
"We can train some other time. I can't keep His Grace waiting."
I said as I headed towards the doors. He didn't complain but instead followed me all the way to the throne room when we met Belenos on her knees waiting.
'She was summoned also.'
Under normal circumstances, Belenos would have stayed perfectly still, but her face twitched, and her aura erupted uncontrollably. It coalesced into the shape of a sword in her hand, and with a surge of force, she launched a strike at the newcomer.
"Insolent!"
I roared, bringing her timeless existence to a halt, my hand raised to pass judgment.
"No need for judgment, Acamar."
His Grace intervened, forcing me to come to a halt midway, but Belenos remained in suspension.
I withdraw my punishment.
"I have forbidden myself from disrupting the peace of Yuánlì within this Palace. Those who defy must face punishment."
I said.
"The duality is complete. What you've witnessed is his body seeks supremacy over darkness."
His Grace ignored my existence while freeing Belenos, who quickly dropped to her knees.
"M... my body acted on my own. I am qualified for judgment."
"I created you, but your actions are yours alone. It appears that Lord Veldanava's decree is above us."
He paused.
"Kenos, the embodiment of absence. A living paradox."
He turned to meet them, both had no 'eyes' in the real sense but nothing escapes their awareness.
Kenos took a knee also.
"First Light."
"The balance is complete. Light and Darkness, Yin and Yang, existence and non-existence. Manifest simultaneously with different creations and goals."
He turned and was approaching the throne.
"If I may, I was created first, right?"
Belenos asked.
"Different creations. Read between the lines Belenos."
I said.
"If you put creation first, the real Kenos from the Abyss has predated the existence of the Pond itself. It was here before everything, before I commanded the Abyss to create a vessel immediately, and it did, and the result is this."
He sold, pointing at Kenos.
(No contradiction. Absence -> Abyss -> Vessel/Kenos)
"You're just an equal with the avatar. Don't be discouraged, though. It comes from the stillness of your majestic Presence."
His presence is fading into light.
"Do well and get along, or I'll be the judge."
I took us out of the Palace where Elara was waiting.
"As my counterpart, I'd like to see what you're capable of."
I am curious to find out which side prevails between light and darkness.
"I'd be happy to take you on anytime, but this isn't the appropriate location."
"He's... he's so....pretty."
The emotional Goddess of Life spoke with starry eyes.
"I'm absence, I can not be described, nor can I have properties."
Kenos replied bluntly. I focused my mind on something else, discarding them.
The veil shifted once more, and I was certain that the Pond had millions of Stars roaming the Hyperworlds and a few in the Drops. More and more Stars were born, some with unique characteristics, while others spawned in specific locations.
Throughout the land, only three could ever match me in a spar: Belenos, Elara, and Kenos.
Kenos lived in isolation. His abilities set him apart, and all Stars kept their distance. I disliked it, but those Drops weren't under my authority, so I chose not to intervene.
Elara created hundreds of thousands of servants and then claimed one of the Drops as her permanent Domain, even after I made it clear, it was meant to be temporary. She even assigned Constellation titles to the Stars. The Star God didn't care, so neither did I.
Belenos followed suit, quietly managing her Drops while working on a secret project of her own.
Kenos remained in the Abyss, silent, hidden, impossible to track.
Meanwhile, several Stars born outside Elyvra and Solaria gathered in the Pond. They formed their own Constellations and split the Hyperworlds between them.
Another group, the Scorpios, had a few noteworthy members, including a particularly ambitious sovereign, but I had more pressing matters than chasing their ambitions.
In contrast, the Stars in the Hyperworlds progressed rapidly. I've been watching them closely, especially their chosen leader, who seems far more promising than the Scorpios ever were.
"Finally, a race."
I mumbled to myself.
To be continued....