Chapter 426: The Promise Part 1

With the portals closed and the last echoes of his children's voices fading into it, Asher finally allowed himself to breathe.

However, his attention immediately turned to the planet below.

'A world this fragile, and I left it undefended for so long.'

That thought alone was enough to set his next task in motion.

For the following days, he focused first on making it a safer place.

He walked across mountains that had never felt a god's footsteps, over oceans that stretched farther than any ship dared sail, through forests untouched since the world's rebirth.

Wherever he went, he left something behind — a mark carved into stone, a rune buried beneath roots, a pulse of golden light sealed into the bones of the earth itself.

Pantheon, ever present at his side, spoke.

(A full sealing formation. Layered across the planet's ley lines. This is not a small undertaking, even for you.)

"It needs to hold against things I haven't seen yet," Asher said, pressing his palm to another node of the formation, watching it settle into the world like a held breath. "That titan was a warning. Next time, it might be something worse. And I won't always be here the moment it happens."

(You intend to leave again.)

"Of course. I can survive the void now, and I still need to save Index. After that, I can finally enjoy the rest of my life."

(You're really greedy, you know that.)

"I am. Maybe that's why I reached this point faster than everyone else."

(I hate admitting it, but you're right. In your current state, I doubt anyone could threaten you. And with me by your side, even the existing rulers of this universe would have to run.)

(We are the strongest duo!)

Pantheon burst into laughter, his prideful voice echoing.

Asher only smiled and continued living the way he always had.

During the night, he spent time with his wives. Every week, he would also travel between worlds to visit the others, keeping them company after his children told him their mothers had started feeling lonely.

With his current abilities, traveling between worlds was no longer a burden.

It was something he could do without a second thought.

By the time the last rune settled into place, the sky itself seemed to exhale.

The formation complete, Asher returned home.

Lucy was the first to notice him standing in the doorway, and for a moment, neither of them said anything. She simply crossed the room and held onto him, like she used to when the world was smaller and their worries were too.

Hailey found them like that a moment later, and didn't hesitate to join in, muttering something about how he always disappeared for "just a little longer" than he promise

And in the garden outside, tending to blossoms that only bloomed under moonlight, the Fairy Queen already knew. She always did.

That night, the four of them didn't speak about the usual stuff. They spoke of nothing important at all — old memories, small complaints, quiet laughter shared over a meal that had gone half-cold because none of them wanted to stop talking.

It was, Asher thought, exactly the kind of night he had spent years without, and hadn't realized how much he missed until now.

Morning came too soon.

He held each of them a little longer than necessary — Lucy first, steady and warm, the spoiler she had always been.

Then Hailey, who pretended not to be as sentimental as she was, and failed at it entirely. And finally the Fairy Queen, whose farewell needed no words at all.

"I'll be back" Asher said. "This time, that's a promise I intend to keep."

None of them asked when. They had learned, long ago, that some answers only mattered once he returned to give them.

.

.

.

Space folded around him.

There was no flash of light, no violent tear in reality — only a simple shift, as if the universe itself had simply agreed to let him pass.

With Pantheon's power fused into his own, and both of them now standing somewhere beyond what mortals called "peak existence," distance had stopped being an obstacle.

Time dilation, gravitational collapse, the endless zero of empty space — none of it applied to him anymore.

One moment, he stood on his home world.

The next, he stood at the center of the universe.

Asher's eyes widened.

In the far distance — billions of kilometers away, and still somehow close enough to feel — a black hole loomed. It was something else entirely, a wound in the fabric of existence so absolute that even light seemed reluctant to approach it.

Its pull didn't tug at his body. It pulled at something deeper — the very concept of being, as if the black hole itself was silently asking every soul in its presence whether they had the right to exist so close to it.

Pantheon's voice, usually calm, carried a rare note of intensity.

(Even from here, its power could be felt. Do you understand what that means?)

Asher did.

The reason he couldn't teleport any closer was simple.

Beyond a certain point, the space around it was locked.

"So this is the center, huh," he muttered.

"...No wonder nothing normal survives out here."

(Better be careful, kid. Once you pass this threshold, there are invisible formations that could easily kill even powerful beings.)

(You have the Law of Absolute Protection, of course, but using it immediately might reveal your presence. It wouldn't be good if the Council detected you. They would definitely try to stop you from entering the VOID.)

"Well, about that... I don't think we arrived as quietly as we thought."

Before Pantheon could speak, space began to tear open.

One rift.

Then two.

Dozens.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

In the blink of an eye, an entire fleet of ships surrounded them from every direction.

Asher looked around at the endless formation before him.

"So this is the Council that protects the universe, huh?" A small smile formed on his face. "Didn't expect them to react this quickly."