NOVPUBIt was hazy.
Indescribable.
Unfathomable.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it felt like he was unlocking a part of his genetic code and peeking into something others could never begin to comprehend.
But his genetic code was so deeply complex, so intricately interwoven, that within it lay a secret transcending the bounds of space and time itself.
It stretched into memories spanning countless years across the Adrastia Emperor King Lineage.
The first dream was of his father who was facing betrayal at the hands of his own man, and another being that Achilles swore to take revenge against should she still be alive.
The second was also of his father, standing before a crowd of countless entities clad in golden armaments, each one kneeling and offering treasures beyond imagining.
From that Dream, he was able to assimilate the Nirvana of the Sun and Moon as it presented him with astonishing power.
And the third time…
HUUM!
His eyes snapped open.
And he saw…
Endless blue. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
Sea.
He could feel the waves around him, cool and eternal, yet he wasn't bound by any physical laws. He moved freely, weightless, without restriction.
His eyes sparkled as he looked around- the water bright, shimmering with light refracted from every angle.
And far below, stretching toward the ocean floor, he saw it.
A multicolored citadel that seemed to span thousands of miles.
Beneath the crushing pressure of the deepest ocean trench, a bioluminescent metropolis bloomed like a hidden kingdom. Towering spires of iridescent coral and crystal rose like underwater mountains, their surfaces etched with glowing runes and ribbons of liquid starlight.
Transparent domes sheltered lush aquatic gardens, their ecosystems maintained by ancient magic and harmonized songs. Achilles felt an unfamiliar energy pulsing from them- alive, sentient, powerful.
He watched in awe as massive, manta-like bioluminescent constructs glided between glowing towers, ferrying humanoid fishmen across the sprawling city. Their wings pulsed with pale blue light, bodies graceful and alive.
Fishmen.
Some walked on legs; others had fishlike tails that shimmered with radiant colors.
Encircling the citadel were enormous Leviathan sea beasts- serpentine guardians and whale-sized sentinels drifting in solemn silence or gliding in gentle spirals around the outer rings.
Some bore riders- humanoid fishmen seated upon their backs, faces calm and reverent as they traversed the vast blue expanse.
"Gorgeous, isn't it?"
…!
Achilles' mind buzzed at the sound of the voice, though he hadn't sensed a single ripple beside him.
He turned sharply.
A middle-aged humanoid man stood there.
He loomed like a tidal monolith, clad in a radiant blue suit of armor with a golden crown etched onto its chestplate. Each plate shimmered with the elegance of the sea, noble and commanding. His hair was a flowing mane of blue streaked with gold, glinting like moonlight on water.
His eyes- deep as sunken ruins, carried centuries. They were ancient, solemn, wise. A king in every sense.
And Achilles saw it- his face. Or rather, a future version of it.
This man… resembled him.
The man turned with a warm, booming laugh, his eyes glowing.
"So this is what my grandson looks like? Even in death, I find joy living in the memories of our lineage once more."
…!
What was this?
Achilles looked down at himself in shock- his upper body bare, the lower half still clad in his half-worn Primordium Evolutius Magitech Suit.
He appeared here… exactly as he was.
And the man before him- this wasn't his father.
"Grand…father?"
The word felt foreign. Hollow.
But the regal man only laughed louder, clapping him on the back.
BOOM!
The force shook him to his core. Achilles stumbled, steeling himself.
"Who else would it be, boy? I'm Thalsian, your Grandfather! But why do you look so feeble? Your bones wouldn't last a second in the Star Seas. And your Existence? Barely above average. That won't do for an Adrastia Emperor King."
…!
His words were heavy, cutting, true.
Thalsian floated around him with a sharp gaze, analyzing him with eerie precision.
"You've got a decent number of assimilations. A few at the higher Echelons upto...the 5th. But you're still this weak?"
"…"
He wanted to argue. To fight back.
But he couldn't.
His grandfather stared at him, first with disbelief… then sorrow. He nodded slowly.
"I see."
The words were ancient, burdened by grief.
Even here, in a dream of dazzling oceans, tears welled in Thalsian's eyes.
"My son- your father- wasn't able to pass it on, was he? The Adrastia Emperor King Lineage Refinement Technique. The glorious Adrastia Imperium Vitae Ascension Codex… lost again."
…!
Achilles' mind raced.
The Adrastia… Imperium Vitae Ascension Codex?
His grandfather's voice was low, nearly reverent.
"My father, your great-grandfather, passed a fragment of it to me. I was meant to pass it on to your father. But I never imagined he'd be the last to hold it. The Ninth Adrastia Emperor King… the strongest of us… crippled by absence."
BOOM.
The words struck with the weight of generations.
Of loss.
Of legacy.
Thalsian's eyes darkened.
"The Adrastia Imperium Vitae Ascension Codex is life itself. It purifies corrupted legacies and assimilations, fuses them purely into your being, and amplifies your Lineage. It is sacred. Essential. Born alongside the First Adrastia Emperor King."
He drifted closer.
"And yet, it cannot be spoken. It cannot be taught. It can only be passed through assimilation- from the Crystallized Adrastia Core of a previous generation. If you're here, it means your father- my foolish son- is gone. He failed to preserve it. Failed you."
BOOM.
A deeper silence fell between them.
Grief. Rage. Acceptance.
Thalsian's voice softened.
"My son left you crippled without it."
Achilles raised his hand instinctively, but...
"Don't raise your hand, boy. Kings don't do that. Speak."
…!
His grandfather's gaze burned with authority.
Achilles lifted his chin. His voice didn't waver.
"I… as the Ninth Adrastia Emperor King, I can assimilate even from my dreams. So if you have the Crystallized Adrastia Core… if the Codex still exists…"
His words shimmered with defiance and hope.
Thalsian froze.
His golden-blue hair pulsed as his eyes gleamed brighter, glowing like deep-sea stars.
And then- he roared.
The seas trembled.
"What?!"
…!
