The next day, as dusk spread across Aethelia Prime, Adrian and Varik were guided through the heart of the Imperial Palace.
They passed through layered archways guarded by silent statues.
At the final gate, the air changed. A subtle pulse of authority rippled outward.
Even Varik, who had grown used to standing beside Adrian, instinctively lowered his head.
The Grand Imperial Banquet Hall lay beyond.
It was not a room. It was like a galaxy contained within walls.
Tiered platforms spiraled upward like orbiting worlds. Each level shimmered with gravity runes, holding tables, banners, and nobles from every major clan in the galaxy.
The air itself vibrated faintly with the hum of hundreds of artifacts and cultivation auras.
Floating chandeliers of condensed essence hung in the air like miniature suns, each glowing with the color of its empire.
Aethelian gold, Duranthian crimson, Volkrith obsidian, Emberion azure, Scaelith silver, Lexarian white.
Conversations rippled like the tides of space.
Eyes turned.
The Patriarch of the Origin Clan had arrived.
A deep voice boomed across the hall, amplified by formations that carried it to every corner.
"The Patriarch of the Origin Clan, Lord Adrian Blackwood!"
Every head turned as the great doors opened.
Adrian entered with quiet composure, dressed in a dark robe threaded with faint silver runes. The fabric caught the light of the chandeliers, reflecting patterns that shifted like living constellations.
Varik followed behind, slightly tense, carrying the calm pride of one who knew the weight of history being written.
As they walked, curious gazes followed. Some eyes gleamed with intrigue, others with envy.
A few, those belonging to the Lexarian envoys, burned with veiled hostility.
Adrian walked unhurriedly, his steps steady, meeting no gaze yet commanding all attention.
The murmurs began immediately.
"That's him? He looks so young."
"My sources say his essence is something unprecedented. Not fire, not space, something else entirely."
He was guided to the front, near the center dais, an honor reserved only for the highest clans and imperial guests.
Adrian's expression remained neutral, but his Source eyes swept the hall, cataloging every formation, every aura, every potential threat.
The herald's voice thundered again, carrying across the hall as he began announcing the arrivals of some of the top clans from the galactic ranking.
Each name came with its own ripple of reaction.
"Clan Auricflame of the Aethelian Empire!"
Golden-armored warriors entered, their leader blazing with heat so intense the nearby air shimmered. The man's beard flickered with actual flames, his eyes molten amber.
They were Aethelia's pride, the empire's oldest allies.
Their patriarch, a broad-shouldered man whose presence radiated controlled fury, scanned the hall before his gaze settled briefly on Adrian.
A faint nod of acknowledgment. Nothing more.
"Clan Starforge of the Duranthian Empire!"
They strode in bearing sleek armor woven from cosmic metals. Each movement radiated precision, their steps synchronized like the ticking of some vast machine.
Their clan was famed for crafting armaments that could slice through space itself.
The Starforge Patriarch carried a blade at his hip that hummed with contained power, its edge distorting the light around it.
Adrian's eyes lingered on the weapon for a moment. The runes inscribed along its surface were elegant, efficient, beautiful in their lethality.
"Clan Duskbane of the Volkrith Empire!"
Adrian's eyes flickered to them immediately.
They were… human.
At their front walked a woman with silver eyes, her expression composed yet faintly curious as her gaze met Adrian's for a fleeting second.
She wore dark armor that seemed to drink in the light, her hair bound in a warrior's braid. Scars marked her hands, the kind earned through countless battles.
A subtle nod passed between them of quiet understanding.
Among all these alien faces and towering bloodlines, this was the only other human patriarch in the top galactic ranks.
And that made her stand out more than any radiant armor could to Adrian.
For a moment, their eyes held. A recognition passed between them, two humans who had climbed to heights their species was never meant to reach.
Then she turned away, taking her seat among the Volkrith delegation.
The herald continued, his voice rising with dramatic flair.
"Clan Voidrender of the Emberion Empire!"
Their arrival darkened the air, a ripple of void essence bending the light.
Figures in black and violet robes stepped forward, their eyes glowing faintly blue like burning ice.
Even the nearby nobles shivered, instinctively leaning away.
The Voidrender Patriarch moved with eerie silence, his face hidden behind a mask of dark crystal that reflected nothing.
"Clan Infinitus of the Scaelith Empire!"
They were serene beings of near-translucent skin, veins glowing faintly with essence. Their movements were graceful, unhurried, as if time itself bent around them.
Their presence was unnervingly calm, their eyes like still pools that seemed to see beyond the moment.
The Infinitus Matriarch smiled gently at the gathered nobles, but her gaze lingered on Adrian with an expression that might have been curiosity or calculation.
"Clan Runithian of the Lexarian Empire!"
At that name, the hall subtly tensed.
A group entered, regal and composed, their white-gold robes marked with the unmistakable Lexarian sigil, the symbol of knowledge, dominance, and millennia-old monopoly.
The lead envoy, a man with silver hair and eyes that gleamed with barely concealed contempt, studied Adrian as one might examine a particularly troublesome insect.
Even their presence carried the weight of a quiet challenge.
Even Adrian could feel their collective disdain directed subtly toward him. The air between them seemed to thicken with unspoken hostility.
But beneath that, he saw something else.
Curiosity, tinged with fear.
...
After the top galactic clans came the Imperial clans from each empire.
Imperial clans from the Duranthian, Volkrith, Emberion, Scaelith, and Lexarian Empires arrived in turn, each bearing their empire's sigil.
Adrian watched them take their places on elevated platforms reserved specifically for imperial clans.
He realized the truth.
This wasn't merely a banquet. This was a galactic summit.
From top galactic clans to imperial clans from every empire were here. The Emperor of Aethelia had summoned the entire core of known civilization under one roof.
"He's not just honoring me," Adrian thought. "He's announcing to the galaxy that Origin belongs to him."
Varik leaned closer, his voice barely a whisper.
"Every major power in the galaxy is watching us right now."
Adrian's expression didn't change, but his Source eyes continued cataloging every formation, every subtle shift in the room's energy.
Then the lights dimmed.
A deep hum resonated through the palace, echoing like the heartbeat of a star.
The floating chandeliers pulsed in rhythm, their glow intensifying before fading to a soft radiance.
Even the conversations stopped. The hall fell into absolute silence.
The herald's voice rang out, reverent and powerful.
"Bow your heads. His Majesty, the Sovereign of Aethelia, the Light that Commands the Stars, enters!"
Every head lowered. Even the patriarchs of the top clans bent their necks in acknowledgment.
Adrian bowed as well, but his eyes remained open, watching.
The doors at the far end opened.
The Emperor of Aethelia stepped through.
He wore no crown, only a robe of black and gold that shimmered like a nebula.
His hair was silver, tied back with a simple band. His face was ageless, neither young nor old.
But his eyes... they held the weight of millennia.
His mere presence silenced the crowd.
A pressure unlike any other descended upon the hall, not aggressive, but absolute.
It wasn't the crushing force of dominance. It was the quiet certainty of a being who commanded stars.
Even the top-ranked patriarchs straightened, their expressions carefully neutral.
The Auricflame Patriarch's flames dimmed slightly. The Voidrender leader's darkness seemed to retreat.
To Adrian, it felt like standing beneath a star that had chosen not to burn him.
"So this is the power of an Emperor..."
The Emperor reached the dais and raised his hand. Instantly, the hall brightened again.
The chandeliers flared back to life, their light warm and welcoming.
"My honored guests," his voice carried effortlessly, "Today, the galaxy gathers not for war, nor conquest, but for change."
His words resonated through the hall, amplified by formations that ensured every syllable reached every ear with perfect clarity.
He gestured toward the far wall, where a vast projection came alive.
Knowledge Spheres appeared, glowing in countless colors, spreading across star systems within the Aethelian empire.
The image showed crowds gathered outside Origin Stores, cultivators experiencing sudden breakthroughs, scholars weeping as knowledge flooded their minds.
"For millennia, we were bound by the language of mana to learn and comprehend. But now... a new dawn begins."
The projection shifted, showing recordings of permanent knowledge transfer, the impossible made real.
"A discovery that will echo through the ages. And it happened not in Lexaria, nor in any of the old empires..."
His gaze settled on Adrian.
"...but here, on Aethelian soil."
Polite applause rippled through the crowd. Some bowed in agreement, others clapped with hesitation.
The Lexarian envoy's expression tightened, his hands remaining still at his sides.
The Emperor's smile was calm, but his meaning was unmistakable.
Aethelia was staking claim to the Origin Clan's rise.
He spread his arms, the nebula patterns on his robes swirling faster.
"Under our banner, the Origin Clan has risen. Let the galaxy remember that it was Aethelia that nurtured the dawn of a new age."
Cheers erupted, the hall shimmering with grandeur once more.
The Aethelian nobles stood, their applause thunderous. Other empires joined more slowly, their reactions measured.
Adrian caught the Duskbane Matriarch's eyes. She clapped, but her expression was thoughtful, calculating.
And then, the herald's voice rose again.
"The Emperor summons forward the Patriarch of the Origin Clan, Lord Adrian Blackwood!"
All eyes turned toward him.
Adrian rose, the silver threads on his robe catching the light as he stepped onto the central walkway.
His movements were unhurried, composed.
Every clan, every envoy, every empire's eye watched him as he ascended the final steps toward the dais.
The Emperor stood waiting, his expression unreadable.
In that moment, beneath the eternal brilliance of Aethelia's palace, the man who had once come from a single, forgotten world now stood before the rulers of the galaxy.
The Emperor extended his hand.
And as the banquet hall of the stars fell silent, Adrian reached forward and clasped it.
The new age had begun.