The Grand Monarch of Annihilation lived up to his name.
The Monarch quickly discovered Cerberus's little trick. As an Ancient Beast whose "origin" was stronger than Huititedan's, Cerberus had used her own genetic traits to devour Huititedan's root characteristics, forging the illusion that he was still alive.
Nanook had not noticed this sleight of hand.
Or rather, an Astral God as powerful as Nanook was not deceived by such a petty trick, but simply ignored it.
But the Grand Monarch of Annihilation would not.
Annihilation was the true leader of the Antimatter Legion. He had likely left a contingency in Huititedan that the Emissary himself was unaware of. The moment Huititedan died, the Grand Monarch of Annihilation, countless star sectors away, accurately perceived the fact of his death and projected his own will directly through that hidden measure.
To be honest, this ability was far less convenient than the Monarch's [Divine Link], but what it lacked in convenience, it made up for in stealth. The Monarch only discovered it the moment it was activated.
The projection took the form of a man with black skin and golden eyes. Aside from the color of his pupils, he bore a ninety-percent resemblance to the depictions of Nanook, the Astral God of Destruction, found in the records of various civilizations.
The instant the Monarch's gaze met his, their wills had already been clearly conveyed to one another: I look forward to our meeting. / I will remember you.
---o---
"!!"
Before Cerberus could recover from her shock, the Monarch had already withdrawn his mental power that had just sparked across the void at the far end of the cosmos. He continued speaking to the infinitesimally small dog girl before him:
"You are no longer Fenrir."
"Less than one-thousandth of the Twilight Ancient Beast's memory and power is manifested in you."
Lu Xing had no actual knowledge of the Ancient Beasts.
His entire understanding of them came from the partial [Dragon Clan] knowledge contained within the [Dominion of Immortality], as well as the partial memories of the fallen [Seven Dragon Kings] he'd gained after fully absorbing the [Branch of Imaginary].
As it happened, the Dragon Clan, as practitioners of the [Path of Immortality], possessed knowledge that was ancient and profound. Among their inherited memories was a section specifically about the Twilight Ancient Beast.
"You desire only two things."
"Either your own completion, or the gathering of the Ancient Beasts' remnants."
The Ancient Beasts were the first life forms to be born in the cosmos.
Although their bloodlines naturally contained the power of the [Paths], they did not know how to use it efficiently. Simply put, they weren't very bright. The Twilight Ancient Beast was already among the smartest of her kind, but in the current cosmic era, she would likely rank in the lower-middle tier.
These Ancient Beasts, who fought with nothing but brute force yet possessed a sliver of instinct for "self-preservation" at critical moments, did not meet the requirements of the Imaginary Tree. Expecting them to fight against the Quantum Sea was a fool's dream. The Imaginary Tree needed a more suitable fighting force.
This was the reason for the birth of the Astral Gods and the rise of civilizations, as recorded in the lore of the [Path of Immortality]. Though it was unclear if this perspective came from "Immortality" or "Order," it certainly held a degree of logic.
"The former requires you to make an enemy of the Antimatter Legion."
"And you would have to search the entire universe for your remains. You must understand, Idrila, the Astral God of Beauty, has been gone for a mere ten thousand years, and the [Mirror Holders] who inherited the mantle of the [Knights of Beauty] have only found less than a tenth of her relics."
"As an Ancient Beast on par with an Astral God, and even stronger than the average, the task of resurrecting you, who has been dead for an uncountable amount of time, would be far more troublesome than my own ascension to godhood."
The Monarch stated this fact plainly.
"But by the time I ascend to godhood, what help could you possibly offer me?"
"..."
Cerberus, who had been feeling quite pleased with herself just a moment ago, now found that her perky little ears no longer twitched with spirit, but drooped listlessly.
"As for gathering the Ancient Beasts..."
"The only two who transitioned from Ancient Beast to Astral God were [Immortality] and [Voracity], and I now possess the Dominions of both."
There were no Grand Monarch-level beings among the [Dragon Clan], and likely not even any [Emissaries] left, otherwise their entire race wouldn't have been reduced to hiding in every corner of the universe. In terms of bloodline and ability, the Monarch could indeed be considered the leader of the Ancient Beasts.
Of course, that was on the condition that something "unfortunate" happened to "Ouroboros, the Astral God of Voracity."
"Who do you think,"
"Between the two of us, is more suited to be the leader?"
"..."
Cerberus still could not find a reason to refute him.
"[Root Regression] has reset your bloodline. You are now a member of the Empire."
"I will naturally find a way to deal with the Antimatter Legion."
"They were one of my targets to begin with, so you need not worry about Annihilation coming after you. As for the other [Emissaries] of the Legion, even if you can't beat them, you certainly have the ability to escape."
Cerberus was a "Stellar-class" combatant.
Due to the unique nature of her existence as an Ancient Beast, she didn't have to worry about being instantly killed by a "Super-Stellar-class" [Emissary].
"This region..."
The Monarch's gaze swept across the cosmos, taking in the entire large galaxy.
"Will be considered the Empire's first enclave in the sea of stars."
"Vill-V."
As the Monarch spoke her name, Vill-V, who was far away, was teleported directly before him.
"Monarch."
The [Anti-Kevin Armament Model 799] reverted to its mechanical backpack form, which Vill-V slung onto her back. The great machinist gave the Monarch a slight nod.
"Using this fleet as a prototype,"
The dragon's claw drew a line in the void.
The Imperial fleet, which Lu Xing had flung far away, was instantly "pulled" back.
"We need to assemble four to eight standard fleets to absorb and control the star systems previously occupied by the Sky People."
"This task is yours."
"As for a partner..."
Turquoise-gold particles of light scattered from the dragon's wings, reassembling between the two into the form of the Plague Templar.
"Everyone else's tasks are not yet complete. This matter will be led by the two of you."
"Welt."
"...Your Majesty."
Welt, who was still in his Collapsed State, quickly reverted to his human form and knelt on one knee, appearing beside the Monarch with utmost reverence. This was not a special case; every member of the Imperial fleet had done so the moment the Monarch appeared.
"Well fought."
"It seems your talents are not limited to the field of scientific research."
"...Don't worry, the situation in the Empire is not yet so tense that we must send researchers to the front lines."
Beside them, Vill-V rolled her eyes, pretending not to hear that sentence—no, the Monarch could never be wrong, so the correct answer must be... she, Vill-V, wasn't a researcher at all!
"I grant you the authority to mobilize Chambers Thirty-Five through Forty-Nine."
"As the Empire's first 'overseas territory,' the task of assisting Vill-V with the absorption and construction efforts falls to you."
"I accept the command!"
"And finally..."
The Monarch looked at Cerberus, who had stopped her whining halfway through and was now staring at him with wide, expectant eyes.
"The Antimatter Legion has suffered a great loss."
"When you make an enemy of them, they tend to seek revenge on the spot. Eden's progress won't be fast; the larger the faction, the more cumbersome it is to mobilize. We won't have any 'allies' for a while."
From the moment he had clarified his strategic objectives, the Monarch had been prepared to fight the Antimatter Legion.
"Cerberus."
"If you encounter an [Emissary]-level opponent, the task of stalling for time falls to you."
The dog girl's appearance had been unexpected, but from the moment of her "birth," her role had been clearly arranged.
"Rest assured, I'm not asking you to fight them alone."
Before Cerberus could refuse, the Monarch had already cut off her retreat.
"The situation I described refers to the special circumstance of 'me fighting Annihilation one-on-one, while the Antimatter Legion attacks with another [Emissary] leading the charge'."
"Even if there is a real risk,"
"Once the vortex at the 'temporal origin' subsides, the [Pillar of Earth] and the [Throne Guard] will come to support you via the 'sea route'."
The Monarch's words were filled with unfamiliar terms, leaving Cerberus genuinely dizzy for a moment.
Then, before she could react—
"If you truly wish to negotiate with me, then complete this task first."
As the Monarch's voice fell, orbs of light glowing blue, brown, black, and gold quietly appeared before the Grand Sovereign Entropy Dragon.
---o---
"What is this...?"
Cerberus looked at the four spheres with curiosity. A special power, not particularly strong but unlike anything she had ever seen, slowly revolved around them.
"Eight of them."
"There are still four... no, five left."
The Monarch did not answer Cerberus's question.
What had just appeared in his hand was the Authority of Origin, imbued with the Authorities of Ice, Death, Rock, and Domination. The remaining Herrscher Authorities... Wendy's Wind, Mei's Thunder, Kiana's Flamescion, Otto's Binding, and finally, Finality.
"The timeline has already deviated by more than one percent."
"Intervening now..."
The Monarch pondered for a moment.
"It's not entirely safe, but there won't be a better opportunity."
The avatar of the Grand Sovereign Entropy Dragon was controlling the temporal origin.
The Monarch could observe that the countless divergences that should have created parallel worlds were instead being bound into a single timeline by the influence of the temporal vortex. Although Prometheus No. 17 did not possess great combat power, the terrifying impact of a major deviation exceeding one percent was something she could not possibly ignore.
"Perfect."
In the center of his empty dragon claw, a black singularity slowly appeared... this was the [Dominion of Voracity] he had just taken from Huititedan.
A temporal vortex was a very troublesome celestial phenomenon.
There were very few ways to neutralize or pacify them, and a black hole happened to be one. A [Simulated Black Hole] created by Authorities like "Void" or "Rock" was clearly insufficient, but after absorbing the new Dominion, the Monarch could use a three-pronged approach of [Finality], [Trailblaze], and [Voracity] to forcibly suppress a portion of the time flow.
"Let's see just how much has changed."
The Monarch was constantly collecting Dominions.
Besides the "request" from the Astral God of Order, it was also because of a discovery Lu Xing had made: the Paths taken by the Astral Gods were all different, but they were not without overlap. Taking the celestial phenomenon of a [black hole] as an example, several different Paths could bring one into being.
To put it simply, several of the [Dominions] the Monarch now possessed were at a level unmatched by anyone else in the cosmos. According to the rules of Astral God ascension, he should have already become one by now. The only remaining possibility for why this hadn't happened was:
Some Astral Gods... had a foot in several boats.
---o---
Just as the Astral God of Order had decomposed the [Dominions] she obtained into the more detailed [Authorities], Lu Xing suspected that above [Dominions], there might exist some kind of more "grand unified" power. It might not be as vast in scale as a universal source like the Imaginary Tree, but its energy level could be on the same level, or slightly weaker.
This was the path to witnessing "Truth."
Lu Xing was merely a latecomer following an existing path, one trodden by countless predecessors. The Astral God of Order died in the process of collecting Dominions; the Astral God of Beauty vanished upon witnessing the "Beauty of the Origin"; the Astral God of Trailblaze perished after reaching the edge of the universe; and there was even the initiator of the ominous "Twilight War," in which countless Astral Gods and Ancient Beasts fell.
He cast an inadvertent glance at Cerberus.
"A resurrected Ancient Beast..."
"Hmph."
The Monarch let out a casual, soft laugh.
Of all those who had witnessed "Truth," the only one who remained was "Aha, the Astral God of Elation." He had once climbed to the top of the Imaginary Tree and was an ancient being who could tear the universe apart with "laughter" alone. Even his ascension to become the [Astral God of Elation] had happened after he witnessed the "utter meaninglessness that returns to nothingness" at the top of the Imaginary Tree.
"..."
"I'm overthinking things."
Before becoming an Astral God, these were not matters he could fathom. As always, if he couldn't figure it out, he would simply give up. There was no need to overload his brain in his spare time.
The top priority now was to retrieve the last four fragments of Origin and fend off the first wave of retaliation from the Antimatter Legion.
To that end—
"Drip."
A drop of water fell into a river.
Using the one percent time distortion as a baseline, the Monarch constructed the required scenario within the entire river of time—ladling the smaller, parallel-flowing streams into the main river of time.
Simply put, he was going to forcibly insert the Honkai Beast swarms cultivated by Black Ji Xuanyuan for five thousand years into the remaining time nodes. This would alter the scale and intensity of the Honkai Eruptions and the Great Honkai, bringing the "controlled" Honkai back to a state appropriate for a civilization's due process.
One percent wasn't much, but it was certainly enough when applied at critical moments.
Nagazora, Oceania, Schicksal HQ, and...
The Moon Base.