Chapter 3: The Gathering of Supremes
The moment Noah's fingertips brushed against the crystal, his body dissolved into silence. Breath, weight, heartbeat—everything was gone. When his senses returned, he wasn't in the hall anymore.
He floated.
Everywhere he looked stretched an endless cosmos, a boundless ocean of stars. Nebulae swirled like brushstrokes of fire and mist, galaxies spun in slow eternal spirals, and trails of starlight drifted past him as though time itself had slowed to a crawl. His throat tightened—he tried to speak, to scream—but no sound left his lips.
What is this place? Did I fail? Did the assimilation collapse? Did I not even awakened? Am I even… alive?
His mind reeled, but then—
A voice cracked across the silence, raw and venomous:
"Finally! 300 whole , festering years rotting in this abyss. If I ever lay my claws on you, World Core, pact or no pact, if you do this again...I'll rip you open and drink you dry."
The words were soaked in hatred.
Noah whipped around. Behind him, the void tore open into a jagged rift of swirling crimson flame. From it stepped a figure draped in shadow and brimstone. Horns curled back from his skull like razors, his eyes glowed with molten hate, and every movement left embers sizzling in the air. The sheer pressure of his presence made Noah's chest tighten as if his very soul were being ground beneath unseen talons.
Before Noah could will his frozen lips to move, another voice resounded—this one smooth as silver, yet barbed with disdain.
"How utterly foul. Centuries of silence, and the first words to stain this realm are the braying of a mongrel? Even the void itself weeps to endure such vulgarity."
A radiant portal unfolded before Noah like a sunrise piercing night. From its heart stepped a man wreathed in light so pure it burned the eyes to behold. His wings unfurled like the unfurling of dawn, feathers etched with runes of gold, and the air grew warm, fragrant, reverent. His gaze, cool and dismissive, slid to the horned figure.
The demon snarled, heat shimmering around him. "Who dares spit at me so freely? Do you know whose name you profane, worm? Are you courting death?"
Then his burning eyes widened as recognition struck. He laughed—a sound like chains snapping and graves breaking. "Heh. No wonder. One of them. You shine like a candle, angel, but candles are so easy to snuff out."
The angel raised his chin, expression carved from disdain itself. "So it is you. An abomination festering like rot between worlds. The Core was merciful to summon me here first—to cleanse this stain before it spreads."
Their voices clashed like swords, the cosmos itself trembling with each word. The very stars seemed to draw closer, quivering as if awaiting the first strike.
But before the duel could ignite, another rift split the void. This one blazed like molten suns, its edges rimmed with searing scales. A thunderous roar echoed from within, rattling Noah's bones. Then a voice bellowed across the starlit abyss:
"Kneel, insects! Tremble before the one true sovereign! The skies burn, the worlds quake, for I—THE DRAGON SUPREME—HAVE COME!"
The space itself shivered. Even the stars seemed to bow.
Noah's heart thudded in terror. He couldn't move, couldn't speak—only watch as titans of myth and nightmare stepped into the same stage… and all of them had turned their eyes toward him.
The demon was the first to lash out, his voice a furnace of rage.
"Who the fuck dares meddle and ruin my fun?!"
The angel's lip curled as though the very sound offended him. His voice cut like a chime forged of steel.
"Insect, you dare to posture before me? And who granted you the right to call yourself Supreme? I am Seraphael, the Radiant Seraph—the one true Angel Supreme. Pretenders like you… should greet the Spear of Justice."
A spear of light coalesced into his hand, radiant and absolute, the void trembling at its presence.
From the fiery rift, the dragon strode fully into the starlit expanse. He towered, half-man, half-dragon, scales like living steel glinting with cosmic fire. His claws flexed, each tipped in an edge sharper than forged blades. His fury boiled the air itself.
"Supremes, you say? You dare to bandy that title like common trash?!" His roar cracked through the void. "I'll show you the might of a true Supreme. I am Samael, Demon Supreme—and I will drink of your blood until nothing remains!"
The tension thickened, so sharp Noah could hardly breathe. The stars themselves seemed to draw back, waiting for blood. But before their wrath could ignite, a voice slipped through—soft, lazy, amused.
"…Wait. Drinking blood is my job."
All three turned, and even Noah—half-faded, trembling from their aura—shifted his gaze.
A coffin, elegant as carved obsidian, drifted from the void. Its lid slid open with regal inevitability. A man stepped out, pale as moonlight, his every movement steeped in nobility. His cloak swirled like liquid night, his eyes glowed like rubies, and his presence was undeniable. The aura of hunger, eternal and refined. A vampire.
Noah's stomach dropped. So this one… must be the Blood Supreme.
Before words could settle, laughter broke the silence—deep, rolling, indulgent. A sage, robes woven with starlight threads, stepped forward stroking his beard. His eyes twinkled with knowledge spanning eons.
"Hohoho… new souls, new powers, new energies. The World Core was generous indeed. What a fascinating era to broaden one's horizons."
Another figure followed, pale as bone, wrapped in skull-etched armor. Shadows coiled around him like loyal hounds. His voice rasped like earth dragged over a grave.
"Tak… when I finally felt the spark of interest, this pale leech crawls from his coffin to spoil the moment."
The vampire ignored him, brushing invisible dust from his cloak with aristocratic disdain.
But they were not alone. A trio stood together at a distance, exuding a dangerous camaraderie. One towered, beast-like, muscles rippling as primal energy dripped from him like blood from a claw. Another shimmered with countless elemental forces—fire, storm, ice, and time itself spiraling around his form in chaotic harmony. The last rested his hand lightly on the hilt of a blade at his hip, eyes sharp, expression unreadable—yet his stillness screamed of a predator's perfect kill.
Noah's mind raced. A Beast, an Elemental, a Sword Master… they're all here.
And then the most alien presence of all. A figure of steel and divinity, machine and god. His mechanical frame glowed with an endless calculus of energy. Whirring constructs circled him, and on his arm clung a puppet—small, porcelain-faced, but alive with a strange will.
The puppet's eyes lit, and its voice rang with cold precision.
"New forms of energy detected. Cataloging… These are not native to our continuum. Frequencies harmonize directly with the environment—sustainable, yet exponentially destructive. Capable of evolving to universe-shattering potential. Proceed with caution."
Silence fell, thick and absolute. The cosmos itself seemed to hush, waiting.
Then, the sage chuckled again, eyes gleaming as he turned.
"…And who might this young man be?"
Every gaze, angelic, demonic, draconic, vampiric, primal, mechanical, elemental, shadowed, and wise, swung to Noah.
His form flickered like a candle in a storm, threatening to dissolve at any moment under their collective pressure. His heart slammed against his chest, but his body wouldn't obey. He was nothing before them—less than nothing—yet somehow, impossibly, he stood at the center of their attention.
The Ten Supremes. All of them. Staring at him.