Zerrion Draal gazed at the void inside his own body, his mind reeling, unable to wrap itself around what had just happened.
Then came the heat- the blistering and absolute heat as the remaining miniature suns and moons began to gravitate toward him, and his existence… began to unravel.
In the sky, the nine-pointed stars in Achilles' eyes shone brightly as he whispered to himself.
A silent command. One only he could hear.
The tendrils of white flame encircling the judge latched onto his body and began to devour- twking everything while he was still alive as Achilles wanted to obtain the very critical memories of this Judge of Lunaris.
What commands he was given to be sent here. How they were able to stir Evolutius Beasts to swarm towards Neon.
Achilles wanted to know absolutely everything as he did not pause in assimilating Zerrion Draal!
What the world witnessed next was the deconstruction of a terrifying Dharma Manifestation Entity.
Zerrion Draal's eyes remained glazed, unfocused.
He still couldn't comprehend how this was happening.
His body cracked and broke apart, disintegrating before countless eyes. But his very essence—it was being drawn in, siphoned into the white-hot tendrils of flame, becoming one with another.
Despite the thunderous explosions echoing across Neon's skies, this moment was oddly serene.
No gales. No shockwaves.
Only the elegant, brutal ballet of suns and moons as they incinerated a once-untouchable being into glimmers of stellar ash.
Those watching wouldn't call it a battle.
They'd call it a rise.
A phoenix's rebirth. A dance that defied comprehension!
Down below, Rose watched the distant image of Achilles.
Her green phoenix form shimmered in the light, regal and proud—like a Queen standing beneath her King.
Luna stood beneath a glowing silver moon, her expression fierce. The fragmented memories from her inheritance surged in her mind, whispering that this being, Achilles, might just be the only Ancient One who had ever chosen to stand with humanity, not enslave or slaughter it…and actually be capable of enacting great change.
And then there was the daughter of the Lunaris Throne.
Nyxaria Moonveil Lunaris.
Frozen in space, still in her behemoth form, she struggled to grasp what she had just witnessed. Her mind hadn't yet caught up with the impossible.
She, like many others, stared in stunned silence.
Aboard distant warships and floating vessels, a heavy stillness lingered. Overseers stood with grim expressions.
A Judge of Lunaris… was dying in Neon.
And that could only mean one thing.
As they recalled the words of the entity who had become a radiant, flaming white phoenix, they understood that there was no going back.
The Colony City of Neon had ceased to exist.
Now, it could only be the Kingdom of Neon, as declared by a single being!
From the slums to the skyscrapers, from the poorest citizens to the most Advanced Humans —everyone watched.
And in the deep, suffocating silence, they understood.
A terrifying change was upon them.
In the skies, the radiant form of the Nirvanic Sun Moon Phoenix slowly faded. In its place, the humanoid body of Achilles emerged once more.
But the majesty surrounding him remained- light of stellar origin shimmering around his form. His purple-gold eyes glowed with a royalty and brilliance none could match.
He was the highest figure in the skies.
Zerrion Draal had vanished.
And with that, Achilles had assimilated his first Dharma Manifestation Entity. The Judge's waves of existence dispersed into Achilles' Primordial Energy Source, Organic Crystal, and Nirvanic Sun Moon Phoenix assimilations—each rising significantly in power.
The complexity of such a being's essence was immense.
And yet Achilles now carried it within him as he began to study it and its fragmented memories
He looked down upon the fading skies where the miniature suns and moons dissolved, and then turned to Luna and Nyxaria Moonveil Lunaris.
His voice rang out, calm but commanding.
"The threat inside of Neon has been taken care of. As of this moment, swarms of beasts are approaching from outside. Prepare for them."
His tone allowed no argument.
Luna and Nyxaria nodded instinctively—one, an overseer of Neon, the other, a daughter of the Lunaris Throne.
No matter their titles—they listened.
Luna turned her gaze toward the distant warships where other overseers waited, and declared.
Below, his Primordial Avatar hovered near Rose, who had just released her blazing green flames and reverted from her phoenix form.
The Avatar stayed aloft.
But Rose came toward Achilles, smiling as he reached for her hand.
Her voice was soft—teasing, yet sincere.
"You're taking this whole 'king' thing very seriously. Declaring a kingdom already? I don't know where any of this is going… but I'll be here. Right beside you."
It all seemed too fast—too surreal.
From declaring Neon's independence to Achilles proclaiming it a kingdom under his protection… did that not make him its King? Could one even just do that?
And yet, he simply smiled.
He looked up at the transparent barrier in the sky and smiled—warm, bright.
"We'll figure it out as we go. For now, let's see what kind of Beast Swarm is waiting outside. My Avatar will handle things here."
His Primordial Avatar remained in the air, golden light shimmering around it, eyes fixed coldly on the human-like figures below—Ethereal Physiology Masters, the Overseers- the leaders who once governed Neon.
Now they'd have to answer to him as all of them came to understand just what was going on!
And he'd make sure everyone was on the same page as he already had the budding memories of Zerrion Draal that were telling him terrifying secrets.
From this day forward, Neon would be a kingdom.
And he would stand over it as its protector. The place he grew up from!
He was the Last Adrastia Emperor King.
If he was truly stepping into the power of his lineage, then he needed to build a kingdom—right here, in this brutal world, where monsters rose from ancient graves.
He would have his revenge on those who killed his father. His grandfather. His entire bloodline.
He had much to do toe eventually be ready for them!
But today—on this first day of the Kingdom of Neon's Calendar, under the Adrastia Emperor King…
Together, they rose toward the transparent barrier above Neon—seeking to pass through it for the first time, to witness the world beyond.
And he asked himself as he did this.
What does it mean to be a king?
What does it mean to rule?