Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Eximious Domain
Myria slowly pushed herself up from the fractured arena floor. As she stood upright, the freezing white mist of her Ice Law completely evaporated.
The arena fell into an bone chilling silence. It felt as though the very concept of time had stopped breathing.
Helion frowned deeply as his blazing purple struggled to find any energy to consume in the surrounding air.
"What are you doing Myria?" Helion demanded, taking a cautious step back.
Myria raised her right hand. Her icy blue eyes suddenly bled into a terrifying bottomless black.
"You are very proud of your primordial fire, Helion. But fire still requires existence in order to burn. And I have seen the true end of all existence."
She silently chanted the first Prime Rune of the Law of Nihility.
Buzz!
Soon, a localized domain of absolute nothingness rapidly expanded from her delicate palm.
It was not ordinary darkness though. It was the complete and utter erasure of reality itself. When the invisible wave of nihility touched Helion’s supreme purple flames, there was no violent explosion. There was no grand elemental struggle.
The divine fire simply ceased to exist. It was wiped out as if it had never been ignited in the first place.
"WHAT!!"
Helion froze in complete terror. His smug fave shattered completely as the invisible wave washed over him.
He could physically feel his very life force and his primordial connection threatening to dissolve into the endless void.
High above the arena, the previously apathetic Emperor Vanir violently gripped the armrests of his throne, instantly shattering the solid obsidian into dust.
Crack!
His eyes widened in unparalleled horror at the annihilation energy radiating from his daughter.
And thus, the Empress of Dark-Moon was chosen.
---
Meanwhile, in a quiet, dust-heavy sector of the cosmos, the Zenith Vanguard slipped out of Hyper Drive (faster than warp drive).
Before them lay a civilization just crossing the threshold into a Type 2.3 on the cosmic scale.
Eximious Domain.
The civilization had completely enclosed their native star in a shimmering, multi-layered Dyson swarm, capturing every ounce of its solar output.
From that blinding central hub, massive transit highways and tethers of harvested plasma stretched outward like golden threads, feeding a handful of neighboring star systems.
However, according to the Vanguard’s tactical scans, only ten inhabited Life Planets actually existed within this immediate sector, tightly orbiting the central hub to form the civilization’s Core World.
The remaining forty Life Planets under their banner were scattered nearby, isolated from the core’s direct protection.
The Zenith Vanguard had arrived with just three LORD-class warships, but numbers meant nothing at this scale. Each of these colossal warship was so impossibly massive that it nearly equaled the size of the Core World itself.
As the titanic black ships blotted out the local starlight and cast suffocating shadows across the system, the scale of the enemy fleet crushed any immediate thoughts of resistance.
Staring at the overwhelming, planet-dwarfing juggernauts looming on their monitors, the commanding officers of Epos were completely scared out of their wits
The News of Epos’ crushing defeat at the hands of the Zenith Emperor had already spread across their remaining star systems. Recognizing the absolute futility of resistance against such overwhelming cosmic might, the planetary leaders formally surrendered in strict accordance with the rules of the Dominators.
Shortly after the Vanguard’s arrival, the defeated civilization dispatched a desperate delegation of their highest-ranking commanding officers.
Trembling under the suffocating shadow of the LORD-class warships, they arrived to respectfully guide the Emperor and his imperial entourage into the heart of the Core World.
Stepping off the grand flagship, Neo led the descent.
Accompanied by Noir, Zestia, Elena, Clark, and a select guard of the Vanguard’s most promising commanders, the group followed their anxious local guides down to the shimmering surface of the Core World, Planet Eximious.
---
Hum!
The imperial transport touched down onto the sprawling, metallic plains of the Grand Plaza.
As the heavy boarding ramp slowly lowered, a rhythmic clanking noise of steel and armour echoed across the entire continent.
Neo and other looked to the direction of the noise.
Before them stretched a sea of silver and crimson. Three million elite soldiers of the Eximious planetary defense force stood in perfectly aligned formations, stretching so far back that they vanished into the planet’s artificial horizon.
General Vael, the highest-ranking officer of the surrendered world, stepped forward with his head bowed deeply.
"Your Imperial Majesty. Before you stands the absolute totality of the Eximious central military. Three million standing soldiers, their weapons are powered down, their shields deactivated. We present our lives, and our world, to the Zenith."
Clark adjust his glass, smirking. "I have to admit, they sure know how to throw a welcoming party. That’s a lot of firepower just waiting for an order."
Elena replied,
"But it is a necessary display of complete vulnerability. They are proving they harbor no hidden fangs. A smart choice, considering the LORD-class wardships currently aiming at their capital."
Standing on Neo’s right, Zestia added,
"Neo, their planetary shields are completely deactivated. They even shut down their orbital tethers just to let us walk here unobstructed. It shows they accepted your rule."
Neo nodded. Then, stepping forward, he unleashed his Dominator aura, like an ancient god.
"Rise." he ordered domineeringly.
The response came with an earth-shaking BOOM.
All three million soldiers stood upright in perfect, terrifying unison.
Immediately after, every single soldier slammed their right fist over their hearts.
"HAIL THE ZENITH EMPIRE! HAIL EMPEROR NEO GODSON!"
The collective roar of three million voices shattered the clouds above the plaza, and make the very ground tremble beneath Neo’s feet.
Neo then looked down at the trembling General Vael, saying:
"General Vael, I’m impressed by your progressive nature. You yielded your star system without forcing my Vanguard to shed a single drop of blood. You chose survival over a foolish death."
"Resistance against a true Dominator is merely a delayed suicide, Your Majesty
We belong to the Zenith now. Our suns burn only for your glory." Vael answered with his hand pressed against his heart.
Neo let out a satisfied smile.
"You are wise, General. I do not care about your past loyalties. I do not care what gods or kings you prayed to before my fleet eclipsed your stars. But from this breath forward, there is only one law in this sector."
"Absolutely!" Vael replied reverently.
---
The Grand Council Hall of Planet Eximious was the epitome of architectural engineering, designed to perfectly reflect the infinite glory of a thousand chained suns.
The walls were engraved with luminescent gold, and the ceiling projected a live holographic map of the entire star cluster.
Yet, today, the brilliant light of the chamber felt entirely suffocated.
At the very apex of the grand room, seated upon a newly forged throne of Black Iron, sat the Zenith Emperor Neo Godson.
Below him, the highest echelons of the surrendered civilization were gathered in complete submission.
Noble aristocrats draped in their finest silks, battle-hardened commanders, cunning state ministers, and the sovereign World Kings of the ten core planets stood in tense rows.
None of them dared to look directly at the new ruler.
Neo’s bottomless eyes noted every twitch of their expressions.
"The era of Epos is dead. You have ruled this stellar cluster under the foolish illusion of supremacy. Today, you are no longer kings or masters. You are subjects of the Zenith Empire. Your resources, your fleets, and your very lives belongs to the Zenith empire. If you ever think of betraying, you’ll cease to exist. No one will ever found your ashes."
The World Kings said nothing, but a shiver ran down their spine.
Noir, bearing the regalia of a Queen, spoke:
"Listen well. The Emperor has graciously allowed you to keep your heads because you demonstrated the basic intelligence to surrender. But we expect complete integration of your planetary resources by the end of this current orbital cycle. Are there any objections?"
Total, suffocating silence answered her. She was breathtakingly hot, enough to ignitr any mammal’s lust. But the terrifying man beside her, crushed all thoughts of desire.
Noir’s lips curled.
"Excellent. Now, Minister of the Exterior. Step forward and deliver your planetary census."
Following her words, a frail elderly minister, heavily augmented with intricate cybernetic implants, stepped out of the ranks.
He was shaking so violently that his metallic limbs clicked against the polished marble floor.
Why would he not? The Zenith emperor had killed Lord Epos after all.
"You can speak," Neo ordered.
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. The ten Life Planets of the Core World have completely submitted to your divine will. Our transit highways, planetary defense shields, and plasma tethers are fully under Zenith control. However..."
The minister paused, his face looking incredibly pale. He looked back at General Vael, who had a helpless look on his face too.
"However what? Don’t tell me someone lost the keys to the planetary treasury." Zestia inquired.
"No, My Queen. It is regarding the Outer Sector. As you are already informed, the remaining forty Life Planets... they have vehemently refused the mandate of surrender."
"Ohh."
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