Above the lands of the Shattered Star Clan…
something happened that had not occurred for countless ages.
At first, no one heard it.
It was not a sound…
but the absence of sound.
Then the light bent.
Not a refraction… but a real bending, as if an invisible hand were pressing on the fabric of reality itself.
And then…
the black hole appeared.
It did not form gradually.
It was not born from an explosion.
It was simply there… suddenly.
A disk of absolute darkness, suspended in the sky, reflecting no light and not merely swallowing it… but erasing the very concept of it.
Every living being within five thousand kilometers felt it.
Not like the feeling of danger.
But like a primal awareness…
an awareness that tells you that you are very small.
Very fragile.
And very close to the end.
People raised their heads.
And saw a sight they would never forget as long as they lived.
Space around the black hole twisted slowly, like the surface of water being pulled toward a bottom without end.
The mountains cracked.
No… they did not collapse.
Instead, deep grinding sounds came from them, as if their stone roots were being crushed.
The seas rose, towering waves freezing for moments before exploding.
The volcanoes awakened from their sleep, launching pillars of fire toward the sky, yet they looked trivial before that darkness.
Then…
for a fraction of a second…
the color of the sky vanished.
Everything turned gray… pale… without spirit.
And all living beings, without exception, felt that they stood before:
the gates of death.
The terror of the universe.
The greatness of absolute power.
The black hole moved.
Slowly.
But that slowness was enough to shatter the nerves of the strong.
Its shadow descended over the Shattered Star Clan…
like an execution blade hanging above the neck of the world.
Suddenly—
space compressed.
Not metaphorically.
Distance itself shrank.
The air became so dense that breathing turned into effort.
The younger generation fell immediately.
Their eyes rolled back.
Blood flowed from their noses.
Some trembled… then lost consciousness.
As for the strong…
they froze.
Not only from fear.
But from existential shock.
As if the universe had grabbed their souls in its hand.
They did not understand what was happening.
But every cell in their bodies screamed:
Run.
And there was nowhere to run.
Deep within the clan
At the deepest point inside the clan's territory, within a secret hall carved into stone older than history, the walls were filled with faintly glowing gray engravings.
There…
the pressure was stronger.
And yet—
no one present moved.
These were not merely experts.
They were beings who had once stood at the edge of the laws themselves.
The grandfather, the father's father, stepped forward.
His eyes reflected the black hole.
He spoke in a low voice… yet filled with awe:
"What a sight…
My grandson is painting a cosmic canvas at the moment of his birth."
He extended his hand slightly, feeling space contract.
"Space is approaching zero…
It is like standing inside the singularity itself."
He paused.
Then whispered:
"What kind of talent is this…?"
The other grandfather said slowly:
"I have lived thousands of years…
and witnessed births that shook the thrones of entire races."
He looked at the sky.
"But this?
This is new."
He fell silent for a moment.
Then added:
"It is not a physical constitution.
Not a bloodline.
Nor a heavenly soul…"
He lowered his voice:
"It is something… not yet classified."
One of the grandmothers frowned.
"Antolina… examine him."
She looked toward the mother's belly.
"If he is reincarnated… he may be an ancient soul.
Or worse… a curse."
Her voice grew cold:
"And we will have to purge it."
Antolina, the other grandmother, did not respond immediately.
Then she said with the calm of one who knows worlds:
"Reincarnation is rare…
and when it happens, it usually begins in the lower worlds."
She stepped closer.
"But… we will leave nothing to chance."
Suddenly—
her eyes ignited.
Not with light.
But with pure whiteness… painful to look at.
Above the mother, gray symbols formed, stretching and connecting until they became a giant eye floating in the void.
The eye did not merely look.
It analyzed.
It peeled away the layers of existence.
Seconds passed…
Then it vanished.
As if it had never been there.
Antolina whispered:
"Strange…
It is as if I am looking at a living black hole."
She fell silent.
Then her eyes widened slightly — which was rare.
"Nothing abnormal only
The power of his soul is slightly higher than normal… but that is not what is astonishing."
She breathed slowly.
"He has formed a dantian… before even beginning training."
Silence filled the hall.
Even the grandparents sharpened their gazes.
She continued:
"But his dantian… is incomplete."
She paused.
"It is as if it is not the end… but a vessel for something coming."
Then—
a muffled scream escaped from the mother.
And everything changed.
The shadow of the black hole suddenly compressed.
It shrank.
Collapsed.
Then—
it rushed toward the child.
And disappeared…
inside his body.
Specifically…
inside the dantian.
Antolina gasped:
"So… the dantian is the talent."
The mother, exhausted, lifted the child with trembling arms.
But her gaze…
was the gaze of one holding a priceless treasure.
She smiled despite the pain.
"Finally…
you are born, my dear."
She whispered:
"You have tired your mother greatly…"
The grandmother, the father's mother, laughed sarcastically:
"It seems he inherited the talent for trouble from two certain people."
In the next moment—
killing intent flooded the hall.
The grandfather… and the father.
They stared at her.
The grandfather raised an eyebrow with some surprise and said:
"What? Are you referring to me?"
As for the father, he only sighed calmly and said:
"You wrong me, Mother. I have never brought disasters to the family."
The grandfather burst into laughter.
A laugh that shook the walls.
"Hahahaha!
Of course my grandson is astonishing!"
He opened his arms.
"My blood does not produce the weak."
He looked upward.
"I bet this region has lived through a terror it will never forget."
The father finally stepped closer.
With strange calm.
He carried the child.
Looked at him for a long time.
Then said:
"A strange child."
He narrowed his eyes.
"He caused a cosmic disaster… and has not even cried."
He looked at the grandfather:
"Are children not supposed to cry?"
The grandfather laughed loudly.
"Cry?!"
He stepped closer.
"This is my grandson."
He smiled with primal pride.
"Look at him… he reminds me of myself."
Eyes turned around the hall.
It was clear that no one wanted to confirm that.
The grandfather suddenly asked:
"So… what is his name?"
The mother sighed and gestured to her husband.
"We agreed… if it is a boy, you will name him."
A short silence followed.
Then the father said:
"Aeris."
The name echoed in the hall.
Short.
Sharp.
As if it were created to be spoken before battles.
The grandfather smiled.
"A good name… for a child who may one day shake the sky."
While everyone was occupied…
Aeris was aware.
Not like human awareness.
But a primal… deep perception
watching everyone with deadly calm.
And he heard a voice.
Cold.
Precise.
Emotionless within his consciousness.
Black Hole System:
Biological signals: stable.
Neural signals: stable.
Fusion with the remaining black hole source is complete.
The host… has completed the birth process.
It paused for a fraction of a second.
Then:
Welcome… bearer of the singularity.
Outside…
the universe was still disturbed.
As if it had not yet decided…
whether to celebrate the birth of this child…
or fear him.