Chapter 693: The Primordial Race
Ash sat relaxed on the grass by the lake, one arm resting on his knee as he watched the water.
His simple presence already had an effect — the once-calm lake was now teeming with life.
Fish of all sizes and colors swam in dense schools, and deeper in the endless ocean that flowed through the Origin Realm’s cosmos, new creatures were being born at an unnatural rate, drawn into existence simply because he was here.
Kaelthyr reeled in another massive fish with a satisfied grunt, glancing at Ash from the corner of his eye.
Ash, as he had mentioned, wasn’t here to fish in the slightest.
He had come to wrap up some business he’d started not too long ago—business that involved immortalizing his readers and granting them a fully sentient race for the future.
With an easy, almost absent-minded gesture, he waved his hand, and three figures appeared before him, suspended in the air, perfectly still.
They were the three readers he had immortalized long ago — Zephyr, Malik, and Err0rx. At present, they possessed neither sentience nor awareness.
In the past, he had granted them temporary forms when he first brought them into existence.
But now, after reading through the Discord and taking in their feedback, he returned to strip away those earlier designs, leaving their bodies as blank templates, ready to be shaped for this exact moment.
Ash looked them over for a moment before speaking.
"Primordials," he said simply. "Beings who exist beyond the bounds of creation."
With those simple words, an entirely new race was brought into existence, one meant solely for the clan of readers and the beings born from their creations, capable of achieving wonders beyond imagination.
And with that settled, he began with Malik first.
With just a thought Malik’s form shifted.
His humanoid appearance settled into that of a strikingly handsome man with short black hair and sharp red eyes that carried a dangerous, devilish charm.
But Ash didn’t stop there, due to Malik’s specific request... He wanted something akin to a True Form.
With a flicker of thought, Malik’s true form spilled into reality like a nightmare made flesh.
In place of the devilish handsome man... was a seething mass of slick, writhing tendrils twisted in on themselves, studded with unblinking eyes of every size that darted and rolled in chaotic patterns.
Limbs — too many, bending at wrong angles — jerked and twitched with unsettling precision.
The very air seemed to shudder around it, and looking too long left the mind aching, as though it were being pried open and rearranged.
Thalion, quietly fishing nearby, froze mid-reel. He turned his head slowly, adjusted his eyeglass, and stared.
"...Your Majesty.... what the hell is that?" he muttered, discomfort flickering across his face.
Ash chuckled softly, recognizing that this was likely the exact reaction Malik had always hoped to inspire when others glimpsed his true form.
The sheer presence he exuded was meant to be as overwhelming and destructive as the vast power he commanded, a sensation so absolute that no one could resist or shield themselves from it—unless, of course, they were Ineffable.
"The first member of the Primordial Race... the Outer God Branch," he said evenly.
"They’ll be the new rulers of the Sacred Dimension." Kaelthyr arched an eyebrow, his fishing rod still in hand.
"Rulers?" he asked. "If you’re opening the Sacred Dimension to everyone, why would it need rulers at all?"
Ash smiled, his expression calm and slightly mischievous.
"Well.... It makes things more interesting."
With a wave of his hand, Malik’s body vanished, sent into the Sacred Dimension to await his awakening.
Next, Ash turned to Zephyr.
The blank form shifted and shrank, condensing into the shape of a sleek, dark shadow cat.
His fur was pitch black, almost absorbing the light around him, while his eyes glowed with a deep, mysterious blueish gold.
And a small, tilted crown rested crookedly on his head, giving him an unmistakably mischievous appearance — like he was always plotting something.
Ash gave a satisfied nod before dismissing him as well.
At last, his gaze fell on Err0rx.
Unlike the others, there was little need to alter Err0rx’s form.
He would remain an ever-shifting mass of essence, fluid and formless, until he chose to reshape himself.
As the Primordial of the Liminal, he was a being with the power to assume any form he wished.
With that in mind, Ash simply assigned him his race and sent him on his way.
Kaelthyr watched the whole process with a raised brow before finally speaking again.
"Man would I hate growing up in Pantheos... You’re just making more trouble for everyone, brat," he muttered, casting his line back into the water.
Ash leaned back on the grass, a small smile on his face as he looked out over the lake.
"Probably," he admitted. "But once again... at least it’ll be entertaining."
He raised his hand and gave a casual wave.
This time six more blank humanoid figures materialized in front of him, floating silently in the air. Their forms were featureless, like unfinished clay waiting to be shaped.
Ash’s eyes moved slowly over the six empty templates as he thought to himself.
’InfinitDragon, AAaninja, MrBan, Crow_Constellation, Ak420flash, FAES...’
He had spent the last few years quietly observing the comments, the engagement, and the consistent presence of certain readers.
Unlike the first batch of Primordial beings, not everyone was very active in the Discord, which made choosing a bit more, though the patterns were still clear enough.
On NovelFire, he could check the top fan values and see who had been leaving comments on the most recent Chapters.
Using that as his guide, he picked those with the highest fan values or whose comments appeared most often.
One by one, he shaped them, granting each a True Name that echoed their very essence.
The first emerged as Infinitus, the Primordial of Infinity.
The second was Aethex, the Primordial of the Unseen.
The third he named Ban, the Primordial of Ruin and Cancellation, followed by the fourth, Corvus, the Primordial Crow. The fifth took the name Flash, the Primordial of Sparks.
Finally, the last became Fae, the Primordial of the Threshold.
One by one, he sent them into the Sacred Dimension, their forms vanishing into glowing rifts.
Once the last one disappeared, Ash tilted his head back slightly and looked up toward the cosmos above the Origin Realm. His voice carried clearly, as if he were speaking directly to those watching.
"Well, as you can see I pretty much winged the archetypes for you six." he said, "However, if you’re reading this far into my journey and want a change... Just let me know."
He had no problem adjusting things as needed, since whether they commented or asked for changes wouldn’t really matter.
This was his way of showing appreciation—and besides, they’d be just as overpowered as the first batch.
He figured the outcome would turn out fine either way. With that settled, only one last thought lingered in his mind.
’Oh, NovelGeek... I hope you’re ready to talk, buddy.’
With that, he closed his eyes, leaned back fully into the grass, and rested his arms behind his head as if ready to take a nap.
Without opening his eyes, Ash spoke to the others.
"Wake me up when you’re ready to move out. In a few years... We will be clearing the last stage of this Novel."