Volume 2, Chapter 7: The Sovereign's Embrace – The Birth of the Nine-Colored Star
The nine-colored flowers continued to bloom across the Dragon Valley. They pushed through the thick layers of ancient bone-dust with quiet determination. It was a strange and beautiful sight. For millions of years, this place had been nothing but death and stillness. Now, it carried the fresh smell of rain and sweet jasmine on the air.
Gu Yuena stood perfectly still in the center of it all. The nine-colored silk of her hair moved gently, as if underwater, even though there was no wind. She looked down at the Dragon God's Divine Heart resting in her palm. It felt warm. It didn't feel like a terrifying source of ultimate power. It felt more like a sleeping bird, finally at rest.
"It's over," she said softly. Her voice didn't shake, but it carried the tiredness of someone who had just walked out of a very long, very dark tunnel and was still getting used to the light.
Lakan walked over to her slowly. He didn't use his wings or any divine speed. He simply walked like a normal person, his boots crunching softly on the bone-dust. "Not quite yet," he said, stopping a few feet away. "The main part is finished, Yuena, but the old man still has a few last words."
He turned his gaze toward the obsidian throne. The Ancestor's ghost was still sitting there. He no longer looked like a terrifying nebula. He appeared as a tired old man with faint scales at the corners of his eyes and a long beard that reached his chest. He looked almost… human. As human as an ancient dragon could look.
The Ancestor looked at Gu Yuena for a long moment. "You did well, little one," he said. "You didn't break. Most who come here do."
He coughed, a dry, rattling sound that seemed to shake the air itself. "But listen carefully. The power you now hold is a target. In another timeline, another piece of my soul found a successor. A boy with a gold and silver pulse. He is growing stronger. He is learning. One day, the universe will notice there are two Dragon Gods. It won't like that. It will try to make you collide like two runaway stars. Be ready for it."
Gu Yuena's fingers tightened around the heart. "I won't be the one who falls."
The Ancestor then turned his weary eyes toward Lakan. He studied the human who had stood against the Universe's Will without fear.
"And you," the Ancestor wheezed. "The Phoenix. I killed the two Blue Demon Birds long ago. I thought I had ended the line of the Supreme Phoenix. I believed that by cutting their wings, no one would ever rise to challenge the dragons again. But here you are. A human. You didn't inherit the power. You simply took it. Don't make my mistake, boy. I tried to rule the Will. You should try to ignore it. Once it realizes it cannot control you, it will try to erase you instead."
Suddenly, a sharp, metallic chirping sound filled the air.
Two streaks of light shot out from Lakan's waist — one gold, one silver. The spirits of the Twin Blue Demon Birds living inside his kampilans flew out. They circled the Ancestor's head with aggressive energy, their tiny translucent wings flapping quickly.
"Look at you now, lizard!" the Golden Bird chirped loudly, its voice like a bright brass flute. "Sitting on a dirty old chair! We told you the Phoenix would return! We told you the sky doesn't belong only to the smelly lizard ones!"
The Silver Bird dove low, nearly brushing the Ancestor's nose. "You missed us back then, didn't you? Too big, too slow, and too full of yourself!"
Lakan raised an eyebrow and let out a small smirk. He didn't stop them. It felt good — seeing an old bully finally get some well-deserved teasing from the ones he once tried to destroy.
The Dragon God didn't move. He didn't even look annoyed. He simply stared past them with distant eyes. "Mockery from blade spirits," he muttered. "How far the mighty have fallen. But I don't care anymore. I am about to become nothing. And nothing has no ego left."
The two bird spirits huffed proudly and flew back into the kampilans, still buzzing with satisfaction.
The Ancestor looked at Lakan one final time. "The Universe's Will is a jealous gardener. It likes its hedges neat and its flowers in straight rows. You and the girl… you are weeds. Beautiful, powerful weeds. But weeds all the same. Watch the shadows, Phoenix. It is already plotting."
With those last words, the Ancestor's form began to break apart. He turned into the same nine-colored petals that were blooming across the ground. Within seconds, the obsidian throne was empty. The Dragon God was truly gone.
Lakan stayed quiet for a long time. He simply stood there, looking at the empty throne. He felt the weight of his kampilans at his side and thought about the Universe's Will. It was strange — even as a God, he still sometimes felt like someone was watching him through a small keyhole.
"Let's go home," Lakan finally said, turning back to the group.
•••••••
The journey back to the Phoenix God Star was calm. Ji Dong and Lie Yan talked quietly about how to stabilize the new laws. Lakan's wives were already planning the next steps for everyone's move and integration.
When they stepped back into the ten-billion-kilometer expanse of the Phoenix God Star, the air felt completely different. It was no longer heavy and stagnant like the valley. It was fresh and alive — the air of a world that was still growing.
Lakan felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. It was Bibi Dong.
She didn't look like a cold Goddess in that moment. She looked like the woman who had fought alone against the heavy malice of the Rakshasa for many years. "The Asura Core," she said quietly. "You were serious about giving it to me?"
Lakan stopped walking. They were standing on a wide balcony overlooking the central plaza. Below them, thousands of people — mortals, friends, and families brought up by the gods — were preparing for a big celebration. Colorful banners were being hung, and the smell of roasting meat filled the air. Someone was already preparing a Filipino-style lechon for the feast, the way he liked it.
"I'm serious," Lakan said. He reached into a hidden space and brought out the Asura God Core. It was a jagged, blood-red crystal that seemed to drink in the light around it. "But this isn't just a simple gift, Dong'er. It's a heavy burden. If you take this, you won't just be the Goddess of the Abyss anymore. You will become the Judge. You'll have to carry both the hate of the Rakshasa and the cold justice of the Asura at the same time."
Bibi Dong looked at the core for a long moment. She reached out and lightly touched its cold surface with one finger. "I've spent my whole life being judged by others, Lakan. I think I'd like to be the one holding the gavel for once."
Lakan smiled gently. "Then we'll take it slow. We won't rush it. We can start the integration during the coronation ceremony. I'll be right there with you as your anchor."
•••••••
The celebration began as the Phoenix God Star reached its brightest point. Lakan had made sure to bring the warmth and flavors of his old home into the divine realm.
The central plaza had turned into a sea of color and life. Stalls offered halo-halo made with divine ice that never melted and pancit that gave the eater a full week of extra soul power in one bowl, all the food are made by Rong Nianbing and the Old Food God, two of the best chefs in the Divine Realm. The music wasn't the usual stiff, floating melodies of the gods. It was the lively beat of drums and the soaring notes of flutes that made people want to dance.
Lakan stood at the top of the grand staircase. He wasn't wearing his armor. He wore a simple but elegant Barong Tagalog made of fifth-dimensional silk, embroidered with patterns of the Ten Phoenix Kings. It felt right — simple, elegant, and very human.
Beside him stood Gu Yuena. She wore a gown that shifted through nine colors as she moved, the Dragon God Heart pulsing softly through the fabric near her chest.
They weren't just two leaders signing a treaty. They were two Sovereigns declaring that the old world was truly over.
"I, Lakan Diwa, Sovereign of the Phoenix God Star," Lakan's voice reached every corner of the massive realm, "declare this alliance eternal. We are the Dual Sovereigns. We are the shield and the sword."
The crowd erupted in cheers. It was louder than any explosion Lakan had ever created. It was the sound of billions of souls realizing, perhaps for the first time, that they were truly safe.
But as Lakan smiled and took Gu Yuena's hand, he felt a cold prickle at the back of his neck.
Far away, in a dimension most could not see, a pair of cold eyes opened. It had sensed the birth of a new Dragon God. And now, it also sensed the coming of something else — the rise of a true Slaughterer.
The Universe's Will began to stir. It was already forming plans, schemes to bring down these growing Sovereigns and their new realm that threatened its control.
Lakan's smirk didn't fade, but his grip on Gu Yuena's hand tightened just a little.
'Let them come', he thought. 'I still have plenty of halo-halo left… and all the time in the world.'
End of Volume 2, Chapter 7