The Cenotaph Wild Lands were vast.
Over the years, a few Ancient Ones, some slightly weaker, had risen here and there. Truly weak Evolutius Beasts poured out of the catacombs in large numbers, enough to fill the Wild Lands.
They were few. Scattered.
And yet, on this day, as if the catacombs of this world had been weakened beyond repair, it felt like many of the powerful forces once sealed in the depths of Ethemia had risen…all at once.
Countless thousands of miles across the Cenotaph Wild Lands trembled as the earth cracked wide open. At points, it even seemed like the land itself was expanding- splitting into greater length, mass, and density.
An unknown number of Ancient Holy Lands emerged.
And with them, an unknown number of Ancient Ones- some average, some obscenely powerful- rose as well.
The status of the hundreds of colonies under the banners of the Thirteen Colony Dynasties?
It was the ushering of a new Age!
A time when the old and new would meet.
In the Olden Times, social hierarchies were vastly different.
Humans were at the bottom of any structural order.
After countless innovations, apocalyptic events, and centuries of rebellion and advancement…would humans now return to that same role?
Would the Ancient Ones return the world to what it once was?
And so, chaos on an unfathomably entropic scale began.
Outside the bounds of the transparent barrier of the Kingdom of Neon.
Achilles floated in the skies above, his pupils pulsing with purple and gold light, casting him in the image of both an old and new king.
Beside him, Rose watched, marveling aloud.
"Holy. Fucking. Shit…"
She couldn't help but curse.
Because in front of her… the Evolutius Beast Swarm that had nearly overrun Neon not long ago had transformed.
Now, hundreds of thousands of Draconic Hybrids blotted the skies.
Obsidian-purple scales, jagged crystals protruding from their backs, wings of arcane power.
Their glowing eyes matched Achilles'- purple and gold.
They floated protectively around Neon as his spores continued to spread silently across the surrounding miles, seeking unseen targets like celestial fishing lines.
Even with the terrifying regenerative abilities granted to him by numerous Assimilations, this effort had consumed nearly 25% of his total reserves- a feat that had never happened recently.
And that was despite not directly Assimilating any of the Evolutius Beasts.
The sheer act of utilizing Draconian Pathogenicity V to infect them had caused his Complexity of Existence to rise.
Until now, he'd only known Assimilation to rapidly evolve his complexity.
But now, by dominating and converting these Beasts into Mindless Hybrids…he saw his Sea of Assimilations expand alongside the evolution of his own existence.
Several Assimilations advanced in percentage.
"I so hate to break up this party."
His thoughts halted- not just from Seraphelle's voice, but from what he could feel through Ecological Empathy III.
The land was shaking.
Dozens of miles away, something vast and ominous began to rise as the earth split apart.
A dark mountain, emerging from broken earth.
Seraphelle, hiding her twisted smile, let it fade as she remembered that her thoughts were no longer private.
She spoke instead in a sullen tone.
"Something tied to the Ancient Times has risen nearby. No idea if it's older than me, weaker, or maybe even an Aeonic Treasure... I just hope it's not anything too insane that might actually be a problem for King Primal."
Her words were venomous, yet respectful.
Achilles looked toward her with a cold gaze as Rose leaned against him, whispering.
"Are we okay, Little Fatty?"
His Queen. His woman. She sought his reassurance at this moment.
And even if the world was falling apart…
"We are more than okay."
He would make sure to assure her that it would all be okay.
Even now, inside the Kingdom of Neon, he was receiving disastrous news through one of his connections- someone who could access information across the Dynasties thanks to his unique synergy of Evolutius Energy and technology.
Achilles' gaze settled on the distant, rising obsidian mountain.
Seraphelle, the Draconic Eidolarch, blinked, her voice thick with recognition.
"Oh shit… I know that place. That mountain was always shaped like a dick- Ancient Titanfall Mountain, right? I remember Titan Dwarves living there. Thousands of them. Not sure how many are still alive…"
Seraphelle's usefulness began to show, even if only a little.
And as Achilles processed this, part of his mind, through Parallel Thought Process V- was already engaged in a terrifying conversation above Fort Cape of Hope, with the past Overseers of Neon.
Inside the Lunaris Dreadnought, once Judge Zerrion Draal's vessel.
The entire command center was lit up with live feeds.
Inside, Nyxaria, Luna, Selene, Major Inu, David, Eloise, Dr. Shaw, Overseer Jackson, and others stood in tense silence.
Multiple screens displayed the scenes outside the Kingdom of Neon with Achilles, Rose, an unknown woman, and thousands upon thousands of flying Draconic Hybrids surrounding them.
They likely numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
All bore the same distinguishing features matching the Hybrids surrounding the Lunaris Dreadnought even now.
Overseer Jackson's voice broke the silence.
"Is it safe to say…the Beast Swarm outside Neon is handled?"
It sounded ridiculous.
But no one could deny what they were seeing.
Achilles only gave a nod.
He turned to Dr. Shaw, whose face had gone pale minutes ago.
"Continue. You said you were able to access feeds around the Capital City of Virelux Ascendria and nearby Colonies?"
He asked a critical question.
Dr. Shaw, still dazed, nodded.
"Yes… the Capital runs on a similar network to Neon. And with access to private servers from Noblesse, Golden Trading Company, and Titan Industries, I used my Andromeda Sentinel AI to tap in to those Colonies under a few different Dynasties too. There's a lot of footage. But I want to show you… this one first."
On the main screen, the Primordial Avatar of Achilles and others watched…
A scene of horror and wonder.
"That's the Colony Capital of Thorns, under the Thornveil Dynasty. And the man bleeding stellar blood, surrounded by over a dozen obsidian-gold titanic beings…that's the Thornveil Throne, Thorndike the Protector."
The image was devastating.
Shattered buildings. Crushed corpses. Vines decayed and withered.
And there, Thorndike could be seen falling beneath a towering Ancient One.
"Now will you kneel, human? Or shall I massacre the millions in this city for your pride?"
The Thornveil Throne groaned, forcing himself up with his crimson-streaked body… and kneeled.
"Please… spare the lives of my people."
A dreadful silence fell over the Dreadnought.
This man, stronger than all of them combined at Astral Core Ascension…had just surrendered to an Ancient One.
The titanic figure raised his chin with obsidian-gold fingers and spoke cruelly.
"We much prefer not to kill the laborers of the future. Haha. Rise, human. We will teach you how your ancestors lived, how they served…and how they obeyed."