Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Ancient Secrets
Myria, known in her deepest secrets as Moon, was currently experiencing a catastrophic mental breakdown.
She possessed the memories of the future. She held secret knowledge that no one else in this era had access to.
That’s why she was called the Enlightened One.
Yet, this specific event regarding her stepbrother rising to the position of Emperor was a massive, unthinkable deviation from the established timeline she knew so intimately.
Helion’s presence was completely nonexistent in her original past. He was supposed to remain an irrelevant, coreless background figure destined to fade into obscurity.
How did he suddenly capture the direct attention of their father? What could have possibly gone wrong to alter destiny on such a fundamental, structural level?
A terrifying thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Could it be because of him?
In the original timeline, Neo was destined to walk the blood-soaked path of a cruel tyrant after the tragic deaths of his mother and sister. The agony of that loss was the ultimate catalyst for his dark ascension. But now that Neo had saved them and actively avoided that horrific fate, could his salvation have triggered a massive butterfly effect across the entire timeline?
Had Neo’s drastic shift in destiny allowed more unpredictable deviations to emerge, tearing apart the fabric of the future Moon knew?
Yes, it had to be. There was absolutely no other feasible explanation for this.
The altered fate of one supreme Tyrant had somehow rewritten the destinies of those around him.
"What do you mean by that?" Moon demanded, unable to contain her anxiety as she glared at Helion’s incredibly smug face.
The rest of the imperial court shared her desperate curiosity. The uncles, aunts, and even the Empress stood completely frozen, their eyes entirely fixed on the coreless prince who now radiated an aura of pure crushing emptiness.
Helion offered a dark, knowing smile. He slowly paced across the fractured crystal floor, fully soaking in the terrified attention of the stunned nobility.
"Listen closely. During my recent banishment to the outer edges of the Dark Domain, I did not just survive the harsh element. I ventured deeper into the abyss and encountered a primordial being hidden within the forgotten ruins. That ancient figure possessed all the hidden truths regarding the very origin of Dominators and Beyonders.
From that ancient entity, I learned a terrifying reality. Those precious Dominator Cores you all revere so deeply are nothing but leashes. They are sophisticated, parasitic tools designed to carefully control us by the Higher Beings."
"WHAT! How is this possible?"
"This is ridiculous!"
Helion simply raised his voice, effortlessly drowning out their collective shock.
"Settle down, you all. This entire system of power is a grand trap. The gods prepared this exact evolutionary path just to use Dominators as willing weapons to conquer worlds on their behalf. And when their divine needs are finally met, when our universe is fully subjugated, they will simply discard you all like broken trash."
The revelation struck Moon like a physical blow.
Her heart pounded in her chest.
She knew that dark truth as well.
Drawing from the tragic future memories of her past life, she realized that every single word Helion just spoke was absolutely correct.
The Dominator Cores were indeed a cosmic trap, a fatal fact humanity only learned when it was far too late.
Helion continued, his eyes glowing like miniature suns.
"But that grand deception was not the only secret the ancient being shared with me. He saw my coreless state not as a defect, but as an empty vessel capable of holding a greater power. He took me as his sole inheritor. He granted me the ultimate oath of true evolution. He taught me the grand mechanism of Laws."
"Laws? What is that?"
"Never heard of it!"
Helion explained smugly,
"It is the path of defying the Axiom and tearing down those high and mighty Gods.
By mastering the fundamental laws of reality itself, one can ascend far beyond the artificial limits of Dominators and Beyonders.
Law Mastery is the only definitive way to escape the trap of divine puppetry and seize absolute control over one’s own destiny. I no longer need a core, for I am becoming the law itself."
His words echoed like thunder in their ears.
The magnitude of his revelation shook the very foundation of their beliefs.
"If that is true Helion, it changes absolutely everything!" Duke Cardigan exclaimed as he started looking at Helion in a much more favorable light.
"Big brother Helion, how does one acquire a Law? Can you teach me?" one of his younger cousins asked, staring at the coreless prince with newfound admiration.
"Yes, I want to learn as well!" a female cousin quickly added, completely forgetting her previous allegiance to Myria.
Helion stood at the center of the hall, thoroughly basking in the glory of their sudden reverence. He drank in their awe before slowly turning his head, casting his smirk gaze back toward Myria.
"But of course, I know I cannot prove such grand claims with mere words. I will show all of you exactly what I showed to our father. Let us have a formal duel to decide who will truly inherit the throne. What say you, Sister Myria?"
Hearing the direct challenge, Myria broke free from her anxious trance. Her entire body was painfully tense, and her usual ice cold facade was rapidly faltering under the weight of her spiraling thoughts.
Could she really win against another Enlightened One?
How could she possibly defeat someone directly favored by a primordial being?
The suffocating dread threatened to consume her entirely.
Then, a sharp, resounding sound cut through the murmurs.
Paah!
All of a sudden, Myria raised her hand and slapped herself fiercely across the cheek.
The impact rang out like a gunshot in the quiet expanse of the Grand Hall.
The entire court fell dead silent. Everyone immediately turned to look at her with sympathetic glances, completely convinced that the overwhelming pressure and the loss of her guaranteed birthright had finally broken her mind.
They expected to see her tears or a hysterical collapse.
But to their surprise, when Myria lowered her trembling hand, her pale cheek was stained bright red, yet her luminous blue eyes had turned completely cold and dangerously focused once again.
All the fear and hesitation had been entirely purged from her gaze.
"I accept," she declared with a domineering voice, as regal as an Empress.
For a moment, it looked as though she had transformed into an entirely different person.
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