Unknown Deity —POV
A low-ranked Constellation lay dormant deep within the blazing heart of the sun, the infernal heat serving as nothing more than a comforting warmth.
But suddenly, his eyes snapped open, glowing like gold. A violent shiver surged down his spine — an instinctive alarm that pierced through his being. Something foreign had entered his realm. Something dangerous.
The sensation was primal — the kind of dread that even divine beings seldom felt. His instincts screamed intrusion, and in the same instant, his divine consciousness expanded, stretching far beyond the solar core.
As the Guardian of this star realm, his awareness flooded across every inch of his domain, brushing against the vast emptiness between the celestial bodies that circled him.
He focused first on the planets nearest to his fiery throne — Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars — his perception combing through their surfaces with meticulous precision.
Then he felt it. A pulse — sharp, vibrant energy — emanating from planet Earth. It wasn't mortal energy. No, it was divine… raw, unrestrained, and powerful enough to disturb the natural flow of the realm. Every other planet faded into insignificance as his attention honed in on the blue world teeming with human life.
His fiery eyes narrowed. "Divine power… here?" he murmured to himself, his voice echoing through the solar flares around him.
He delved deeper into his divine perception, piercing through the clouds and atmosphere of Earth until his gaze fell upon the source — two deities soaring gracefully through the sky. Their divine signatures clashed and intertwined, a dance of light and darkness upon mortal soil.
He studied them carefully. The woman's presence was vast — so vast that his perception faltered against it. He couldn't sense the limits of her divinity, nor the true depth of her power. It was as if he were staring into the abyss, and the abyss stared back. The realization sent a flicker of unease through him.
She's far beyond me, he thought bitterly. Even attempting to measure her strength would be futile.
But then, his gaze shifted to the other — the boy.
The young deity radiated divine energy that was noticeably weaker than his own. Yet, the quality of it — the sheer purity of the boy's essence — was beyond anything he had ever witnessed. It was refined, celestial in nature, almost… forbidden.
A dangerous grin spread across the Constellation's face. "Such purity… If I could devour that, if I could absorb it… I might—" His eyes burned brighter. "I might even ascend to the rank of a High Constellation."
The thought ignited a hunger in him, a desire so potent that the solar flares surrounding him roared in response.
He continued watching the pair through his divine sight. They descended from the heavens and landed upon an enormous structure — a grand temple of human design, buzzing with strange energies and lights. The humans called it a mall.
Intrigued, the Constellation observed as the two walked calmly through the building, weaving between crowds, entering one chamber after another — until they finally stepped into a vast room filled with fabrics and garments of every kind.
His lips curled into a smirk, a sinister idea beginning to take shape in his mind. The woman was powerful, far too powerful to confront directly — and she was protective of the boy. If he could find a way to separate them, even for a brief moment, the opportunity would be his.
Yes… he thought, leaning back into the warmth of the solar core, his expression twisting with cunning delight. If I play this carefully, that divine spark will be mine.
The flames around him flickered, almost as if they too were laughing at the scheme forming in their Guardian's mind.
And within the core of the sun, the low-ranked Constellation smirked — basking in his self-proclaimed genius, already envisioning the moment he would rise from obscurity and claim a new throne among the stars.
Atlas's POV
Atlas browsed through the closet of shoes, his eyes scanning the shelves lined with various designs —from simple sneakers to elegant dress shoes.
He reached out to touch one of them, curious about the soft texture and strange craftsmanship. The material felt different from anything he had worn before, and for a brief moment, he wondered how people could create such intricate designs in a duration of 10 years.
Has it really been ten years? Atlas inwardly asked himself.
Lilim was not near him this time, having wandered off to the women's clothing section. She was completely immersed in her own world, her crimson eyes glimmering with fascination as she ran her fingers along the fabrics.
Each dress she touched seemed to shimmer under the mall's bright lights, and she couldn't help but marvel at the craftsmanship.
She was amazed by how beautiful mortal clothes were —the patterns, the colors, the variety.
Never in her existence had she expected to find such beauty in this dust of a realm, this fragile world her Master once called home.
For a fleeting moment, she forgot about their purpose, lost in the allure of human aesthetics that seemed to whisper stories of vanity, desire, and fleeting perfection.
Whilst the two were immersed in their own things. The ground trembled, the store walls shook —as though there was an earthquake.
"A dungeon!!" a stranger shouted, attracting the attention of many —Atlas and Lilim included. Their heads turned to look in the direction of the stranger.
Atlas and Lilim were surprised to see a dimensional portal. Lilim could sense a spark of divine power from it, combined with a foreign energy source —one she'd only ever sense from Sortia, one of Erebus' "concubine".
But the energy was weaker compared to Sortia's —bringing herself out of her thoughts, she returned to her master's side.
"Lilim, what's with that portal? My Seismic Sense is ringing in my head —warning me of the dangers inside that portal," Atlas said.
"I'm not sure either," Lilim responded, "but it seems the mortals have a clue on what's happening —strange," she added. Indicating the increasing crowd around the portal, but with no one seemed confused unlike them.