Days passed…
Then came the day of the wedding.
Inside the vast platform Adrian had constructed within the void, preparations moved swiftly yet without the slightest hint of chaos. Countless formations glowed softly beneath the platform's surface, stabilizing the atmosphere, regulating gravity, and sustaining life across the light-year-wide expanse. Everything functioned in perfect harmony, each formation responding precisely as intended.
From the command chamber, Varik oversaw the final adjustments. His instructions flowed calmly through the Origin Net. As the final checks concluded, the platform settled into a steady rhythm, ready to welcome its guests.
Adrian stood at a raised point near the heart of the venue, his hands clasped behind his back as he gazed outward into the endless void.
From distant points in space, ships emerged one after another, accompanied by individual cultivators traversing the void through their own means. Familiar figures materialized in orderly intervals, warriors, dignitaries, and even rulers, each arrival carefully timed. Many paused the moment they appeared, momentarily stunned by the sheer scale of what lay before them.
A wedding held in the void itself.
Not within a palace or a city, not upon a world rich with history, but suspended among the stars, where nothing existed except endless darkness and light. For many, the sight alone was enough to leave them momentarily speechless.
...
Across the platform, the core members were scattered, each contributing in their own way. Some guided arriving guests, offering directions and quiet greetings. Others stood in small clusters, speaking softly as laughter rose and fell, quickly carried away by the open expanse. A few simply stood still, gazing outward at the stars, silently taking in the moment.
Elara moved gracefully between clusters of guests, her presence warm and welcoming. She paused beside a group of warriors from Earth, offering words of encouragement to those who seemed overwhelmed by the grandeur. Thomas stood a short distance away, his gaze sweeping the platform with quiet pride.
Max had found a comfortable spot near the edge of the platform, lying flat on his back with his hands behind his head, staring up at the stars.
"You planning to sleep through the ceremony?" Elliot asked, walking past.
"Maybe."
"Sentinel will kill you."
"Worth it!" Max grinned.
In the midst of this, two figures were noticeably absent from the preparations.
Sentinel and Aurelia were not among them.
They were elsewhere.
...
In a quiet, enclosed section of the platform, Aurelia stood surrounded by subtle formations that shimmered gently around her. Selena adjusted the final details of Aurelia's attire with careful hands, her expression focused yet warm. The wedding robes were crafted in deep white-grey fabric threaded with fine golden silk, flowing naturally and designed not to overshadow Aurelia herself, but to frame her presence.
"This suits you," Selena said softly.
Aurelia inclined her head slightly. Her expression remained composed, but there was something unfamiliar in her eyes, anticipation perhaps, or the faint tension of a moment long awaited.
Nearby, Mira held a mirror, her gaze fixed on Aurelia with open awe. She had grown up hearing stories of the Celestials. And now, even after all these years she spent with them, that awe didn't lessen a bit.
Elara entered then, carrying a small box. She opened it carefully, revealing a simple circlet woven from threads of pure mana, its surface glowing faintly with the Source essence.
"From Adrian," Elara said quietly, "He made it himself."
Aurelia took it, turning it slowly in her hands. It looked extremely beautiful. She placed it gently atop her head, and the circlet settled naturally, its glow blending seamlessly with the golden patterns of her robes.
"Beautiful," Mira whispered.
Aurelia met her own reflection in the mirror. For a moment, she simply stared, as if confronting something she had not allowed herself to imagine for millennia.
Then she exhaled slowly, "I'm ready."
...
Elsewhere, within another enclosed space, Sentinel stood alone.
His robes were simpler than Aurelia's, deep white-grey with subtle golden accents along the collar and sleeves.
The other Celestials drifted in and out, offering brief words, some teasing, some sincere. Cassian paused beside him, a rare grin crossing his face. "Don't overthink it."
Sentinel glanced at him, "I'm not."
Cassian laughed, "You've waited thousands of years for this. Just enjoy it."
Septimus entered a moment later, "You nervous?"
Sentinel hesitated, "I'm not afraid of eternity," he said, his voice steady but honest. "I'm afraid of failing to cherish it."
Septimus studied him for a moment, then nodded, "You won't."
Draven leaned against the wall and said, "Stop looking like you're about to charge into a demon horde."
A faint smile broke through Sentinel, "Old habits."
Soft laughter spread through the chamber, easing the tension as the moment drew closer.
...
When the final preparations were complete, Varik's voice echoed softly throughout the platform.
"It's time."
At once, the entire venue seemed to still. Conversations faded mid-sentence, laughter died down, and every gaze turned inward toward the ceremonial space.
From opposite sides of the platform, Sentinel and Aurelia emerged.
There was no teleportation, no dramatic descent from above. They simply drifted forward, carried by gentle spatial currents, drawn naturally toward one another.
As they neared the center, the space between them responded, light bending subtly as their presence harmonized.
They met at the heart of the platform.
Sentinel's hand reached out first. Aurelia took it without hesitation.
A brief moment passed, neither speaking, simply standing together beneath the stars.
Then Lysandra appeared beside them.
She had requested the role herself, and no one had objected. In truth, no one could imagine a more fitting witness. An empress who had ruled for eras, a being older than countless civilizations present. She was not a cultivator obsessed with transcendence, but a ruler who understood choice, consequence, and legacy.
Her robes were deep violet, threaded with silver, simpler than her usual imperial regalia. She positioned herself between Sentinel and Aurelia.
Her voice carried clearly across the platform, not amplified by power, but by the silence that surrounded her.
"You stand here because you chose one another."
Her gaze moved between Sentinel and Aurelia, "Eternity is long. Longer still for those who walk the path of cultivation, and yet… you choose."
"This bond grants no authority. It offers no protection against loss, no guarantee against pain. It binds you not through law or power, but through will."
Lysandra paused, allowing the weight of her words to settle.
"Do you accept this choice?"
Sentinel answered without hesitation, his voice carrying the same certainty that had once rallied humanity against impossible odds, "I do."
Aurelia followed, her gaze unwavering, "I do."
"Then let it be witnessed," Lysandra said, stepping back gracefully, "by those who stand here… and by the galaxy beyond."
They leaned toward one another.
Their lips met.
For a heartbeat, the platform remained utterly silent.
Then Max and Draven were the first to break the silence, bursting into applause as if they might rush forward, only to be held back by Septimus and Selric. Their laughter rang out, infectious and unrestrained.
"Finally!" Max shouted, his grin splitting his face.
"About time!" Draven added, throwing an arm around Max's shoulders.
Selric shook his head, though his smile betrayed his amusement, "Show some dignity."
Others followed, the applause spreading slowly at first, then swelling across the platform, echoing through the void. Warriors raised their fists, rulers inclined their heads, and beings from across the galaxy offered their respect in a thousand different ways.
Elara wiped at her eyes, not bothering to hide the tears. Thomas placed a hand on her shoulder, his own expression uncharacteristically soft.
Kai leaned toward Seraphina, whispering, "Think we'll ever get to this point?"
Seraphina elbowed him sharply, though her cheeks colored, "Focus on the ceremony."
"I am focused."
"On the wrong thing."
Nearby, Kaelith stood, watching the scene calmly.
Mira stood beside her father, Dorian, both of them clapping steadily. Mira's eyes shone with something close to wonder.
"Beautiful," she murmured.
Adrian stood slightly apart from the crowd, watching quietly.
He saw Sentinel and Aurelia floating together now, arms around one another, framed by distant stars and endless darkness. Sentinel's usual composure had softened into something gentler, whilst Aurelia's perpetual readiness for battle had eased into contentment.
They looked... complete.
In that moment, something settled within him.
The Guardian Spirit's words echoed faintly in his mind, the loneliness of the peak, the inevitability of isolation. The insistence that attachments would become chains, that cultivation demanded solitude, that strength required sacrifice of everything else.
And yet, standing there, Adrian understood something clearly.
Sentinel had protected Earth for thousands of years alone. Aurelia had fought across the stars for just as long. Both had walked paths that should have led to the isolation the Guardian Spirit described.
But here they stood, choosing connection over solitude, choosing each other despite eternity's weight.
Cultivation existed to protect moments like this, not to replace them.
The Celestials gathered around Sentinel and Aurelia, their joy unrestrained after millennia of waiting for this moment.
For the first time, he felt certain he had chosen the right path.
And for this, even if he had to stand against reality itself, he knew it would be worth it.