1686 Twenty Millions Years Ago. I

"You look distressed, Apollo. Is there something in your mind?" Eris asked with a peering look.

"Not now, Eris." Apollo replied with an irritated tone while turning himself into a flash of light.

Before he could finish the transformation, Eris advised calmly, "I hope you don't do anything you will come to regret later on."

"..." Apollo merely gave her a hopeless glance before disappearing into nothingness.

'Ah, little paragon, you sure have disturbed a peace that lasted for eons. All of this, and you will still not be able to save her as much as I want you to succeed.' Eris murmured to herself as she watched the black flames getting snuffed out bit by bit.

Meanwhile, at the summit of the palace...

"Your lover doesn't know any better." The first ruler shook his head as he addressed the tensed Asna, "I offered him an olive branch, a promise, and he spat on it."

"A promise? Like the one you offered me when I was a child?" Asna replied with a look boiling with hatred, "You monsters deserve to be locked up for eternity."

She watched what happened to Felix's clone and while it made her heart unsettled, it also made her love Felix even more as he dared to do something she never dared to do.

That was standing up against the three rulers' tyranny even when their overwhelming authority and strength were enough to cripple anyone.

"We did what we had to do and you know it." The third ruler said calmly.

"Keep saying that to make yourself feel better." Asna sneered as the buried memories of her childhood resurfaced in her mind.

She would never forget the treatment and the betrayal she received when she was a child as it made her lose complete trust in the rulers and other unigins.

No one could blame her...

*****

Twenty million years ago, the Eternal Kingdom seemed like a realm of unparalleled splendor and abundance, a stark contrast to its present state.

At the heart of this celestial magnificence was the dimensional pocket, the sacred and secluded space that housed the universe's heart.

This heart, a cosmic entity of unfathomable power and mystery, pulsed with the lifeblood of creation itself—celestial energy.

It appeared as though the abundant celestial energy had seeped into the very soil of the kingdom, giving birth to landscapes of unparalleled beauty.

Near the universe's heart, above the same majestic platforms, the three rulers could be seen seated akin to unmovable statues.

"Our previous attempt to break through the universe's heart was deemed as a failure and our punishment was the halving of the celestial energy output." The second ruler remarked calmly."I do not consider it as a failure. We have caused it some damage, and I am certain a second attempt will completely shatter it and forge our path to freedom at last. The prophecy hasn't changed its instructions or the outcome, so it means we are on the right path." The first ruler said as he glanced at the tiny cracks on the surface of the intense white dot.

"Our second attempt will depend on the 'key' that's about to come." The third ruler said with a solemn tone as he glanced at the prophecy tablet above them.

This day was a very, very special day for the three rulers...It was marked out of great importance in the prophecy and one could even say that if they didn't follow the prophecy's instructions, their end goal would change forever.

Thus, they had been waiting for this day with great patience.

Whoosh!!

Suddenly, the universe's heart pulsed with a rich wave of celestial energy, attracting the three rulers' attention.

Then, it began to shimmer more intensely, its light coalescing into a spectacle unseen in eons.

From this blinding luminosity, a phenomenon occurred that would mark a new chapter in the annals of the cosmos.

A small female toddler, born not of flesh and blood but of starlight and celestial whispers, emerged into existence.

"Hmmm?"

"A sentinal celestial being?"

"Is this the key?"

The three rulers seemed surprised by the emergence of the toddler as they didn't expect the 'key' to be another celestial being.

But, they remained silent and watched as the universe's heart breath life into the toddler, turning her hair intoa vibrant shade of crimson, cascaded down like a river of fire, contrasting starkly with her ethereal, fair skin, which radiated a soft, otherworldly glow.

Her eyes, golden and resplendent, sparkled with the light of a thousand stars, holding within them the mysteries of the universe and the innocence of new life.magic

These eyes gazed upon the three rulers with wonder and curiosity.

Whoosh!!

With one last pulse of celestial energy, the universe's heart became slightly dim and the celestial energy expelled seemed to have been reduced significantly.

Before the three rulers could react to this, a booming thunderclap resounded loudly throughout the entire universe, breaking everyone's thought process.

It was one of the loudest thunderclaps ever recorded in the universe's history and not even Felix's thunderclaps could match it!

The three rulers completely ignored it...Their deep frowns were visible through the blinding light, indicating their displeasure with the significant reduction in the output of celestial energy.

"How can she require so much energy to be born?" The third ruler commented, "It's at least triple what we needed to come into existence, combined."

"To be considered as the key, it's only logical to consume this much." The first ruler said calmly, "She must be a special entity.""Let's hope so..." The second ruler sighed, "Her birth must have set us back for millions of years again."

"The prophecy has never led us wrong...Have some faith." The first ruler remarked as he eyed Asna, who was giggling childishly while spinning around herself in midair.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, two portals opened up in front of the three rulers' platforms. One was chaotic and the other radiated with intense cosmic energy. Eris and Uranus stepped out from them with looks of intrigue.

"I have heard a disturbance..." Before Eris could finish her sentence, her eyes were pulled into little Asna. "What's this cute thing?"

"Supposedly, the key to our freedom." The second ruler replied.

"How so?"

Uranus queried as he teleported in front of little Asna and narrowed his eyes in focus, appearing quite menacing with his star-like eyes and wrinkled old face.

"Aaa! Aaa!!"

Instead of being afraid, Asna started laughing while holding Uranus' white beard, seemingly enjoying its harsh sensation.

"The prophecy says nothing about her or how she will help us escape from this eternal prison." The first ruler remarked composedly, "We have to figure things out by ourselves."

"How about Kronos?" Uranus frowned, "Can't you seek his help on this? I don't think the chronicle fog will be there."

"Since it's related to the prophecy, I am certain the chronicle fog will occur." The third ruler rejected the proposal as he gazed at a small sentence written on the prophecy tablet, "The tablet has formed it clear that peering into the future is forbidden."

As the owners of the three celestial languages, the rulers had control over all the elements in the universe, including time. Thus, even without the space/time unigin's help, they could easily peer into the future and make their lives easier.

Alas, they had already tried this and the result wasn't promising as much as it was mysterious.

Every time they attempted to peer into the future with matters related to the prophecy or the other side, there would be a black static-like fog, hindering their sight.

Even Kronos wasn't able to pierce through it and this made them understand that either the universe or the entity responsible for the creation of the prophecy tablet had a hand in it.

Thus, the three rulers gave up on the thought of peering into the future and placed their faith in the prophecy.

They were that desperate as they had already tried many other ways to obtain their freedom and failed...

"So, what do we do with her exactly?" Uranus asked as he gazed at Asna with Eris and the three rulers.

"What else?" Eris responded with a gentle smile as she lifted Asna in her arms, "We nurture her while slowly studying her."

"What do we call her?"

Eris, with a gentle smile that belied the immense power she wielded, knelt to meet the child's gaze. "She seems like a beacon of light in the vastness of space, a harmony amidst the chaos."

The child looked up with curiosity, her golden eyes reflecting the glow of the celestial bodies that danced above.

"In you, I see the elegance of the cosmos, the grace of its boundless dance." Eris continued, her words painting the essence of the name she had chosen. "And so, you shall be recognized as Asnaleigha, a union of 'Asna,' symbolizing the radiant light you embody, and 'Leigha,' embodying the grace with which you traverse the cosmos."

Asnaleigha, hearing her name for the first time, smiled, a simple gesture that held the promise of countless wonders.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Uranus waved his head with an annoyed look, "You named her, you shall nurture her. I want nothing to do with her."

"It's not like she wants you to." Eris chuckled at the sight of Asna ignoring Uranus completely.