Sovereign of the Ashes

Amidst the endless expanse of the Astral Realm, a large fleet of warships drifted through the void.

They were finally on their way back to the Magus Star Domain.

Before that, however, Sein still needed to go with Karazo and the others to retrieve the remaining Klytheran survivors.

“We Klytherans have lived in a star domain called Chaos Sea for tens of thousands of years. Just from the name alone, you can probably guess how harsh that place is. There were strange anomalies, star pirates, and nomadic tribes fighting us for territory... Chaos rules everything there,” Karazo said.

“But it’s exactly because so many nomadic races and interstellar caravans pass through that region that we managed to gather scraps of information about the wider cosmos. In fact, we first heard about the war between the Gallant Federation and the Magus Civilization centuries ago from a small nomadic caravan.”

Sein nodded and asked, “Interstellar caravan, huh? What was it called?”

“Arriba Chamber of Commerce,” Karazo answered after thinking for a moment. “But that was nearly three thousand years ago. They didn’t stay long in the Chaos Sea.”[1]

“It’s too chaotic and too poor here,” he added with a shake of his head.

“Did they ever pass through the star domain where Blue Star is located?” Sein asked, his expression steady.

“Probably not. Blue Star is a world we discovered only recently. The same goes for the Shadowbat Civilization, Planet Aquaria, and the others—we had no contact with any of them before this,” Karazo replied.

He sighed and continued, “Who would’ve thought there were so many medium and small planar civilizations beyond that star domain...”

In the Astral Realm, strength reigned supreme.

The Klytherans’ weak position had long hindered their growth. Only by aligning themselves with the Magus Civilization could they hope to clear a path for their future.

And naturally, the Magus Civilization’s aid would come at a cost.

Their war with the Gallant Federation was already underway.

It would not only expand and strengthen the Magus Civilization, but also allow them to settle old scores with their old enemy.

Klythera’s decision to join the Magus Alliance was only natural, considering who it was that destroyed Planet Klythera’s civilization back then.

The Gallant Federation’s massacre and the hatred etched into every Klytheran’s bones ran far too deep.

When Sein accompanied Karazo to the planet where the surviving Klytherans lived, Darian, Orric, Beatrice, Auron, and the others came along too.

All of them were clearly interested in the Magus Civilization Sein mentioned, and in the invitation from the Magus Alliance.

They were all shocked at first when they learned about the Magus Civilization, then thought about how to make contact so they could verify whether the stories were exaggerated.

Any Rank Four or higher lifeform with a working brain, some foresight, and basic intelligence would react the same way after hearing rumors of a civilization thousands of times stronger than their own.

As for those who would bury their heads in the sand, pretend to be blind, or outright avoid contact.... They were the ones lacking ambition and vision.

Fortunately, none of the beings from the four civilizations that came to aid Blue Star fell into that category.

Even the impulsive and boorish Orric was no fool. After all, he was destined to become the next Ocean King, ruling Planet Aquaria and every plane under its banner.

How could he secure that throne without taking the initiative to engage a behemoth like the Magus Civilization?

No matter whether the Gallant Federation or the Magus Civilization won their war, any plane bordering these two top-tier civilizations knew they needed to plan their moves, having already heard of these two supreme civilizations’ reputations.

The Shadowbat Civilization’s lower-ranking troops, the Ocean King’s royal guard, and the female Amazon warriors from Marvelous Plane did not come along this time.

Instead, they stayed behind near Blue Star to guard against the Klytheran’s main forces stationed there.

Clearly, they still held some wariness toward the Klytherans.

Since they were not familiar with the Magus Civilization enough to understand the importance it placed on contracts, these outsiders trusted themselves more than a law contract created personally by Sein.

***

On a tiny crimson planet, Sein finally saw the lower-ranking Klytherans who lived there.

It was a low-level plane whose environmental laws clashed severely with the Klytherans.

To Sein, these lower-class Klytherans all appeared... very “frail.”

The remnant population of Planet Klythera was not large to begin with.

Aside from the seven hundred thousand Rank One and above Klytheran warriors, the remaining population below Rank One totaled only around forty million.

This number was incredibly low compared to other planar world species!

Yet even with such a tiny population base, the Klytherans still managed to field over seven hundred thousand ranked warriors. That kind of evolution rate was downright shocking.

“That’s because Klytherans with weak genetic strength struggle to survive even the embryonic stage,” Karazo said.

“Without enough inert crystals, many of our people die before they are even born. According to the genetic sequences stored in our gene bank, I should’ve had a younger sister. But I’ve never even seen her face.”

As he led Sein toward the crimson planet, he suddenly turned to him and asked, “Do you know how we keep our species alive?”

“How?” Sein humbly asked, even though he already had some guesses.

Karazo let out a low, humorless laugh.

“For every Klytheran fighter who dies, whether by nature or by battle, we extract the Klytherite from their bodies and feed it back into the gene bank. It ensures the beneficial genes keep getting passed on.”

“This practice eventually became a tradition for the remnants of our race. Many of us, myself included, believe our will continues on through this method and that our race will have a brighter future.”

Karazo’s gaze on Sein was earnest and raw.

From Blue Star’s perspective, the Klytherans were the villains—invaders who brought war to their homeworld.

But in the vast Astral Realm, there was no absolute good or evil.

Every race carried its own burdens, the Klytherans included.

And as many of the Blue Star natives accompanying them looked around the crimson planet, they suddenly realized they had lived far easier lives than the Klytherans ever had.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Waves of air currents swept out from the crimson planet. The fighters stationed there had sensed Karazo’s return.

The Klytherans lived brutally harsh lives. Sein noticed many low-ranking fighters wearing damaged armor.

The Klytheran legion that had been sent to Blue Star was probably the most elite force they had left.

“Come. I’ll take you to Drew,” Karazo said. “Joining the Magus Alliance is not something I can decide alone. Drew’s judgment is essential.”

Drew was another Rank Five powerhouse among the Klytheran survivors and their oldest member.

Most of the younger Klytheran fighters, including Kram, Karl, and other Rank Four powerhouses, had literally grown up under his care.

Sein nodded and followed Karazo as they flew toward the heart of the crimson planet.

1. Translator’s Note: It’s been a while since we last heard of Arriba, the organization founded by White Stella and Tourmaline’s paternal uncle! This was mentioned back in Chapter 836. ☜