After watching six centuries of memories... Seris's fire-forged resolve and Yonna's quiet loneliness Ash felt his heart swell until it ached with something deeper than lust.
"My General… my little warrior…" he whispered, voice soft enough to cradle them all.
He stood, wings folding away, and clapped once.
The sound cracked through the Greater Chamber like a whip of pure mana it was loud enough to jolt every cultivator awake, yet his lovers?
They didn't even twitch.
Ash smirked, amused. "Well, I'll just go meet a few other ladi—"
Five pairs of eyes snapped open at once (golden, silver moon eyes, blue and amber), all burning with instant, murderous jealousy.
"Meet a few what, Ashy?" Nia asked, voice syrupy sweet and deadly sharp.
The others sat up slowly, naked and glorious, staring at him like wolves who'd just found a trespasser.
Ash chuckled, shaking his head. "Now you're up."
He waved a hand.
Rose-gold light danced across their skin, weaving clothing from nothing.
Nia received a backless crimson silk dress that clung to her petite curve, slit high on both thighs, golden flames embroidered along the hem that flickered like real fire.
Vaeloria wore a midnight-blue battle gown with an armored corset of black dragon-scale, a flowing silver skirt that parted to reveal thigh-high boots, and a mantle of living shadow resting on her shoulders.
Seris was in a high-collared bodysuit of glossy black leather that hugged every curve like a second skin. A thin belt of polished obsidian circled her waist, holding twin sheathed daggers at the small of her back. Her legs were encased in thigh-high boots of the same black leather, edged with thin crimson lines that caught the light like fresh blood
Yonna's outfit was a sleek midnight leather cropped jacket showing toned midriff, low-slung pants with rose-pink belts, fingerless gloves, and a choker that pulsed faintly with restrained light.
Sonna wore something softer yet no less stunning, a flowing white dress of silk that shifted to pale rose in the light, delicate straps crossing her back, hem brushing barefoot ankles like a lover's caress.
"You look as if you're planning something," Vaeloria said, silver eyes narrowing at the glint in his blood-drop gaze. The five women floated just above the rose-gold clouds, hair and clothes drifting in a breeze that existed only for them.
"And when do you plan on discussing this new look?" Yonna added, her blue stare locked on the massive black wings with glowing rose-pink veins. She reached out, fingertips brushing a wing that felt like velvet night.
"Well… I am planning something," Ash answered with a wink at Vaeloria. He turned to Yonna and began explaining. "As I told you a few years ago, I have the ability to take everything from those I bond with—"
"Who is she?" Nia cut in, golden eyes narrowing, arms folding beneath her chest.
Ash laughed softly and pulled Nia into a hug, fingers threading through her tri-colored hair. "Like I was saying… those past abilities all evolved, and I can do a bit more now."
He told them everything... from his inner cosmos, the coliseum massacre, the Nosferatu bloodline, the wings and eyes, the Originat clan, even Kaelthyr's sudden master claim. The only thing he left out was the full truth of his past lives; something he still didn't know much about himself.
Seris folded her arms when he finished. "So… you were kidnapped by a vampire princess, she fell for your charms, you dominated their coliseum, and gained a new master?"
"Sounds about right," Sonna muttered, cheeks pink. "Trying to charm this guy never goes well."
"What are you now, then?" Vaeloria asked, voice quiet but intense.
Ash only smiled as he looked around.
In the distance, Thalion and the twins stood at the peak of SS-rank, eyes closed in meditation.
Ash waved a hand without warning.
Space folded.
They reappeared on the vast, rainbow-grass plain of the Originat Haven (five million kilometers of perfect meadow under a sky of eternal rose-gold dawn).
Thalion, Caelan, and Kael appeared beside the five women confused for half a heartbeat before they saw Ash.... but his look only brought about more confusion.
Ash looked at his eight most trusted people (lovers and swords alike) and spread his wings wide.
"Welcome to the Originat Haven.... or maybe the Originat Cosmos," he said, voice carrying across the endless island like the first word ever spoken.
"From today forward, we build something that will make even Eternal clans kneel."
The group couldn't help but look around in pure amazement.
He had already described the Originat Haven to the women but seeing it with their own eyes was an entirely different wonder. An island five million kilometers wide floated in the absolute void of a newborn cosmos. There were no stars yet, only the soft rose-gold glow of eternal dawn painting everything in warm, living light.
The grass shimmered through every color of a sunrise, each blade singing faintly when the breeze touched it.
Rivers of liquid mana wound across the plains; their banks lined with flowers that opened and closed like breathing hearts. It was mythical in its simplicity (just grass and water), yet so beautiful it stole breath and words alike.
Ash smiled as he watched their stunned faces.
"Ashy… it's beautiful…" Nia whispered, finally slipping from his arms to step forward, tri-colored hair catching the light like liquid fire.
The others nodded silently, too awed to speak.
Thalion adjusted his glasses with a trembling hand, sharp mind racing behind calm eyes. Then he saw Ash fully... his bronze skin, blood-drop eyes, massive black wings veined with glowing rose-pink and the glasses nearly slipped from his face.
"Your Majesty…" he said at last, voice steady only through centuries of discipline. "You truly never cease to surprise me." Coming from Thalion, a man who could literally calculate possible futures, that was praise was indeed something.
Everyone turned as Ash's voice rolled across the island like gentle thunder.
"Everyone."
The twins, who were twenty-four now, tall and lethal, built like living blades snapped to attention.
Their identical silver eyes widened in perfect unison.
"Big bro… where are your tails?" Caelan blurted.
"I think the wings are cooler than the tails," Kael added instantly, already reaching out to touch a rose-pink vein.
Ash chuckled... He spread his wings once, letting the light catch every feather, then began to explain.
"Before I allow you to enter the world of Astralis, I want to fill you in on a few things."
The moment Ash spoke, the entire floating island seemed to still. Every eye turned to him, the rose-gold dawn light catching on their faces like liquid fire. The air itself felt heavier, charged with the weight of what was coming.
"Try not to ask many questions right now," he continued, voice calm but carrying across the endless plain like a quiet command.
"Firstly, the world of Astralis is nothing like Elaris. There are no kingdom rankings or anything like that." He explained the differences he had seen (four suns, four moons, gravity twice as heavy, mana so pure it burned the lungs, colossal scale of everything, and the brutal truth that power and background were the only currencies that truly mattered).
Then he reached the heart of it.
"And I have created a Clan. The Originat Clan… and each one of you will be responsible to lead a branch of this Clan."
The words landed like thunder wrapped in silk. Every pair of eyes brightened, shock and pride blooming across their faces.
"Next, and the main thing…"
Ash tapped into his Progenitor title. Eight strands of blood rose from his palm (a swirling amalgamation of white, red, pink, and black that pulsed with ancient, impossible power). They floated toward each person like living ribbons, hovering before them.
"I am now a Primavus… the First of my kind. A race that will grow as long as I, the Progenitor, grow. Currently, this race holds aspects from four different kinds of entities: Human, Celestial Foxes, Desire, and Nosferatu."
The strands shimmered, waiting.
Thalion's eyes widened behind his glasses. "Your Majesty… how will these affect us?" He didn't know the races aside from human, but he could feel the power radiating from the blood was unlike anything he'd felt before.
Ash smirked as the progenitor he knew just how these strands of blood will change them.
"You will become the first Primavus aside from myself," he said, voice rolling across the island like warm thunder.
"And because you're receiving blood straight from its origin, you will be stronger, purer, with more potential than any who come after. Firstly, you will cease being merely Human… and in Vaeloria's case, merely Celestial Fox.
You will become full-bred Primavus. You will gain the most beautiful forms any race has ever worn, Celestial Fox moon-manipulation, Human limitless adaptability, and the ruthless supremacy of the Nosferatu bloodline (standing above any vampire with lesser heritage)."
No one hesitated.
Eight hands reached out at once.
The moment skin touched blood, the strands liquefied and poured into them like rivers of molten rose-gold and black starlight.
Their bodies froze mid-breath.
Then the cocoons formed.
Crimson-black petals of living blood unfurled from the ground beneath each person, blooming upward in perfect spirals. The petals hardened into translucent shells veined with glowing rose-pink light
"Well… this should only take an hour or two," he muttered, lips curving into a satisfied smirk.
He then turned his attention to his status as he looked at the things he gained from Seris and Yonna.
[Affinities Acquired - Ash, Water]
[MP Acquired - 50 Million]
[Buffs Acquired - The User battle prowess increases permanently by a minor realm for each major goal completion. | The User strength rises by three minor realms anytime fighting alongside subordinates.]
[Law(s) - Water 1%, Ash 1%]
[Enhancing 500-Fold]
"Oh, so the Eternal Bonds Bloodline enhancement matches the inner cosmos' enhancement rate," he muttered, noting that the bloodlines and affinities hadn't changed much. Still, the buffs he received from Seris and Yonna's SS-ranked evolutions were a real surprise—and on top of that, he no longer had to limit himself to evolving just three.
[MP Acquired - 25 billion]
[Buff Acquired - The User Battle Prowess can rise infinitely.... the tougher the goal, the more power gained.
Current Goal: Must be set by the User.
-The User's Battle Prowess rises a major realm when fighting alongside subordinates.]
He smiled seeing this as he felt his inner cosmos expanding even more reaching a total of 53 billion Km. Aside from these buffs, not much else was gained from these two as he expected, their bloodlines just enhanced the Human adaptability of him and their talents weren't worth mentioning even after the enhancement.
After intaking all of the gained aspects smoothly Ash disappeared once again.
While the eight cocoons continued to pulse gently in the endless dawn, waiting for their hour.