In the Kingdom of Neon.
In the Slums, a region dense with crumbling apartment complexes.
An old woman stood barefoot on the cracked stone of a sidewalk, staring at the nearby Advanced Human Evaluation Center where a screen displayed the Kingdom of Neon ascending into the skies.
Her fingers trembled as she leaned on her cane, eyes lifted to the glowing heavens.
For decades, the Slums had stolen everything from her- her husband, her children- all devoured by Leyline Fractures and the nightmares they unleashed.
She remembered the screams, the fires, the nights spent praying for peace that never came. But now, as the Kingdom of Neon rose wrapped in purple and gold light, she wept- not from sorrow, but from a joy so sharp it hurt.
It hadn't come in time for her family. But it had come, so others might live.
She smiled through the pain.
"We're free," she whispered, voice trembling. "They're watching from above... and we've finally risen to meet them."
But it carried power.
She remembered her roots, the culture of Neon. She remembered how she had grieved when her children died and when her grandchildren followed.
She had sent them off with hymns.
And now, she wished to do the same.
So she tapped her cane rhythmically, and began to sing in a melodious voice.
"We rise beyond the shadowed past, our chains are cast away~
Through skies of gold and purple flame, we greet the break of day~"
Every word pronounced with care.
Nearby, a group of orphans near a housing complex looked her way. They listened… then began to hum, the mood turning reverent.
And the old woman continued.
"By King Primal's hand we soar, no longer bound below~
In Neon's light, we sing of hope, the only truth we know~"
The hymn revealed her heart.
Her sorrow. Her release.
Others heard her, their own emotions stirred. When she repeated the verse… they joined her.
"We rise beyond the shadowed past, our chains are cast away~
Through skies of gold and purple flame, we greet the break of day~"
The hymn spread like wildfire.
Into bustling streets.
Into the heart of Neon, with its skyscrapers, its Advanced Humans, its everyday citizens.
Even into the Colony Bunkers.
A mystical experience, as voices lifted in one unifying chorus.
"By King Primal's hand we soar, no longer bound below~
In Neon's light, we sing of hope, the only truth we know~"
At the summit of the Primal Neon Tower.
Dr. Shaw straightened himself as others still gawked at Achilles in disbelief.
Moments later, his eyes narrowed as something was happening.
And he wasn't the only one. Achilles, from the tallest spire of Neon, noticed it too. People in distant buildings. Neon-lit sidewalks. All looking upward. All singing.
Dr. Shaw acted. A nearby Andromeda Sentinel released a holographic display across the skies, showing images of Neon- of people swaying, tapping their feet, voices raised in song.
"Can you hear it?" Dr. Shaw asked.
The others stilled. Even Achilles, unmoved before, now listened.
When Leyline Fractures brought destruction, the people of Neon turned to hymns to mourn and endure.
But today's hymn was different. No one knew who had begun it. No one knew how it had spread.
[We rise beyond the shadowed past, our chains are cast away~
Through skies of gold and purple flame, we greet the break of day~
By King Primal's hand we soar, no longer bound below~
In Neon's light, we sing of hope, the only truth we know~]
Achilles heard it. And for a moment, his emotions wavered.
His mother had died here.
The last memories of his father were buried here.
He was tied to this place, even if he'd tried not to be. The lives of millions rested below him. He couldn't know them all. He couldn't feel their every wound.
But through their song...
From the Slums, from the skyscrapers...
He felt the sorrow they shed. The fear of monsters and Leyline Fractures that they were finally releasing.
And so, with eyes closed, he listened.
These people within it.
He would protect them.
After all, wasn't he their King?
Achilles had glimpsed the terrors yet to come- through the memories of Seraphelle and the Titan Dwarves.
The Nine Supreme Forces.
And even Mythological Ancients, beings so vast and powerful that entire Holy Lands avoided their paths.
This Plane- his father had once called it the most mysterious, the most dangerous. A world filled with secrets even he could not fathom. And his father was an Emperor King over an known Empire!
Today, Neon had risen.
But tomorrow… Achilles would have to rise even higher. To protect Rose. To protect the Kingdom.
And against all odds and all monstrous things…
He would assimilate them all and prevail.
He would assimilate everything!
As a Kingdom soared for the first time.
Over 100,000 miles away from Neon.
In the skies, a massive continent shimmered in verdant purple brilliance- its edges spilling waterfalls of that same hue. Massive green chains anchored it to the distant earth below.
Around the continent, vibrant flocks of avian beasts soared in reverence.
Deeper within, mythical birds with feathers of gold, purple, and jade glided across the skies in silent, sacred harmony.
Majestic and radiant. Their flight graceful. Their power profound.
In the depths of this continent.
Atop a mountain streaked in green and violet...
One, a verdant phoenix in humanoid form. The other, a colossal golden-flame phoenix whose Aeonic Chains still cracked and shattered, its breath alone billowing golden fire powerful enough to reduce even Dharma Manifestation Kings of Land, Sea, and Sky to ash.
The humanoid phoenix, a radiant woman wreathed in green flames that burned with Astral Core brilliance, finally spoke.
"Hell Flame Master, I've sensed a budding Lineage… a Millennium Acheron Phoenix hidden far across this Plane. One with purity surpassing even mine. I wish to bring them home, or consume their Lineage to refine my own, Master."