The End and Beginning of an Era

Rowan's gift to the Ark required time, and while they went through the changes that his gift brought them, the Ark was left undefended. Regius could not fight due to the fact that he was weakened massively by Rowan's action and still in the grip of a massive amount of pain, so it was left to Rowan and Rowan alone. Rowan had made the Ark public enemy number one. The storm had only grown stronger and stronger as more Astra were destroyed and it swept through the myriad realms. The Ark sat above the storm and grew stronger as well as the golden runes of Astra painted the outside of the ship as it was absorbed inside and used for the denizens that lay frozen within.

Rowan was forcing the souls that were born on the ark and those that would be born on the Ark to go through this evolution. It was no easy feat, but with Empry's help in managing things, he managed. The denizens of the Ark that lived through this would refer to this as the frozen year. They called it as such because even at max speed that's how long it took for the denizens within to complete their soul evolution while the Ark itself reached a new evolution and its once black hull now had golden lines of runic script that swirled on the hull at all times. This allowed them to finally stop following the storm as Rowan released it to travel through the myriad realms and continue its mission. The forces of the myriad realms would go on to form a coalition formed from their strongest as they finally shattered the storm, but the deed itself was mostly done.

Rowan had crippled the fighting force of every major faction and set everyone back to the drawing board. War for resources broke out through the entire myriad realms over resources because once more people had to craft their weapons from scratch. The void that was left behind by Astra gave room for so much more to be born. Regius was among the first to recover and when he did, he glared at Rowan for close to a week before he finally sighed and got over it because ultimately the change had not only improved the denizens of the ark but he as well. He had taken a massive leap in strength that not even he had fully expected. He was simply mad that he had to endure such harsh pain for an entire year.

Time passed, and the Ark changed based on Rowan's actions. Newborns came into the world with a soul armament within them that would serve as a guide to them for the rest of their lives. Those born with weapons and armor naturally made their way towards battlefields, but there were some that were not that way. Some had kitchen knives, cauldrons, blacksmith hammers. No two were alike, but it gave people insight into what their own purpose may be, allowing them to develop far more naturally than anyone could have thought. Another ten years later and Rowan would be reunited with many of his friends from the second layer, which would be the start of the Arks' new era.

Emily, the now grown-up girl, would become the Royal engineer. She would form her godhood around robotics, and technology. She would give birth to the robot race, and would be worshipped by them as their supreme god. She would work side by side to turn the mech program into the number one armor for those not born with armor as their soul armament. She, alongside Regius, would spend the next hundred years creating advancement after advancement even at one point, revisiting the mana gun that Regius himself had once theorized.

Camille would bring the art of healing to new levels, not just with her abilities, but in the pursuit of alchemy. She would be the leading figure for the rise of alchemy in the ark. She would work so closely with Valentine, the resident herbologist of the Ark, to create new potions and pills that allowed the Ark to increase their standing once more. The ark even began to branch into selling some of their wares in the myriad realms, amassing a profit of materials that could not be originally found in the Ark. She and Valentine would grow extremely close and she would bear his child, but with no desire to be simply another one of his wives, she would remain unmarried.

Feng would step into the position of the royal librarian. He would work hard so that soul afflictions would be called soul traits going forward while he would document the usage of runes into formations that caused the Ark to evolve once more while at the same time he would document the unique cultivation paths that had been seen in the ark so far while further perfecting the cultivation system for the masses. His master, Genma, would rise with him and become one of the foremost researchers and masters of exploration that the Ark had ever seen. They both were currently working together on their current project, which was organizing the countless races of the Ark under umbrellas to better respect the differences between different races. They had recently published a paper that classified several races, including Lich, vampire and zombies as undead.

The queen of Atlantis would redeem the goodwill she had earned over the years and they would be allowed to finally journey to the second floor but the majority chose to remain the overseers of the special training areas on the second layer as a sign of respect to the king. Queen Vernize, on the other hand, would spend tens of years getting to know her now much larger family while fighting along with her daughter in aid of Regius, much to her own annoyance.

Finally there was Akari, the queen of vampires had married Rowan Raid, the Arks' second primordial and its god of war. She happily accompanied Rowan and Regius to battle and remained a General in the military while at the same time the vampire Race had found a new leader in her first-born and only child. Alucard Raid, the king of the vampires, led his people peacefully and with the noblesse oblige that both of his parents instilled in him.

The introduction of death mana had indeed led to the rise of necromancer capable of wanton destruction of which the likes of the Ark had not seen in all its days but the police force founded by Wreathe had gained enough traction and recruits to offset that, while it was revealed that only humanoid races with death attunements and those who dabbled in death mana were affected by the insanity that it could bring. The undead being the only exception to the rule since part of their being itself was based on death.

Rowan and Regius sat at the highest point of the Ark, a seat that was reserved for just the two of them as they watched the Arc travel through space and on towards their next destination. They had now fought sight by side for close to a hundred years and Rowan was considered one of Regius' closest friends. They shared a drink while Regius smoked the newest brand of cigarette that had been developed. It burned with a golden flame while it was rolled in a black paper. The smoke produced from it was so potent that if a bystander were to accidentally inhale it, they would feel their cultivation improve on the spot. Regius smiled at Rowan as they sat back in their chairs and clinked their glasses.

"So what's next, Master? The Myriad realms have changed as much as the Ark has at this point but every time I think we are capable of standing on the top something happens that makes me rethink that, how was it possible that the insectoids had so many primordials that paled in comparison to the other races, why were they not abolished long ago?" Regius took a drag from his cigarette and a sip from his drink before answering.

"Are you talking about the people that tried to assassinate us during that last battle with the beasts? Well, truthfully, there are two things. One is that the other forces ignored the insects because they saw them as a non-threat. Before you released that storm, the myriad realms had not seen a major conflict until the Ark. The time of peace has given their primordials the chance to strengthen their own godhoods and become beings that the insectoids wish they could create. The insectoids were flawed cultivators. Their path was based purely on accumulation and there was nothing really to them. It's why I chose them as the first targets. Second is the force that tried to assassinate us."

Rowan nodded along until Regius got to the assassination attempt when he chuckled. "Wait, which one? There have been quite a few recently." Regius wasn't smiling though because this confirmed that during both attempts, Rowan had not been able to see exactly what had attacked them. Regius shook his head and took another swig before putting his glass down on the table between them. "The first force was the voidlings. They are the inverse of the universe, the only known true enemy of the myriad realms. Not to be confused with the phantasms that we have not really engaged much at this point. If you remember my wife is a chaos being, they are descended from the voidlings though I only learned that recently. They wield mana much like us, but the elements almost act as if they are inverted. I don't know enough about them yet but based on what I've gathered somewhere in the myriad realms, there is a bloody battlefield where the natural forces of the myriad realms hold these voidlings at bay. An endless war, so to speak."

Rowan finally realized the severity of this while he took a long swig of his drink before placing it down as well. "Then what about the other attempt?" They were currently speaking of these two attempts because they were both currently sitting here because both of them had been injured in the attempts. This hideaway of theirs also served to focus the mana of the Ark and aid their recovery. Regius' placid look turned to one of anger at the mention of the attempt that had almost taken Rowan's life. "That would be another force that I was trying to not engage with just yet, but for different reasons. The ones that injured you were probably acting out on their own because their leadership has already reached out to say despite our actions, they are not interested in currently going to battle with us. They refer to themselves as High Humans. They say they are the pinnacle achievement of humans. They think that the humans of the Ark born with their mixed bloodlines are weaker than them because they are pure.

Rowan's jaw dropped at the revelation of the hooded figure that had managed to wound him so quickly before escaping after an injured Regius, who was watching the skirmish, used the Ark cannons to blast him into the distance. "So other human forces do, in fact, exist. Good to know. I guess it is something we will deal with when we have to, but master that never answered what's next?"

Regius finally lost the sour look on his face as he smiled. "Well, first things first, we need one more primordial to rise from the Ark. The seers tell me that this time it will be from the beasts. They actually told me that I should not interfere in the beasts for the next several years or I will only lengthen the process. After the third of us rises, though, we finally carve out a piece of the myriad realm for ourselves. First, we just have to remove one more force from power. I was actually thinking we need to sit down and decide on who. Thanks to your plan, the races of the Ark have reached the pinnacle of what their races can bring them. We don't need to kill just so that the races can reach full potential anymore because we are already there. Now we need to think carefully and choose a target together." Rowan nodded and stood up and began to stretch while Regius grinned and stood as well as they both appeared outside the ark facing each other.

"Alright, so then, what's your choice, Rowan? We will settle this the traditional way." Rowan thought for a moment before throwing out an answer.

"I think we should go after the beasts. If we can overcome them with a show of force that awes them, then there's a chance they will willingly join the Ark without a massive amount of bloodshed while our own beast clans could prove that we can help them be better than what they are. Outside of the Ark, most of the beasts have risen up to avoid going back to being hunted for their parts, a side effect of my actions that I did not foresee. We can offer them safety within the borders of the Ark and more so later when we expand. I have already forbidden the hunting of the beast kind on the Ark purely for the sake of crafting weapons and armor, while fair combat is a different story."

Regius nodded his head along with Rowan's words. "Okay, fair reasoning. I, on the other hand, think we should eradicate the so-called High humans. Failure to control a scout means there are forces inside of their faction that are opposed to us even if the whole decided not to attack us, its only a matter of time and we should hit them before they hit us. It may be a chance for the humans of the Ark to learn new things and maybe even evolve." Rowan shook his head instantly, "You can achieve that through peace and talking to them I'm not overly offended by the attempt on my life, I still took Astra from them, the attempt was warranted, stop letting your anger cloud your judgment we don't even know the limits of their strength."

Regius only sighed at this. "See, this is exactly why I knew I should just stand up and we do this the only way we know how. A fight. Rowan nodded his head and smiled as his aura started to leak out from around him. Both of their auras blazed to life and space around them shook. Rowan's aura was made of weapons that all hacked and slashed at the Regius aura, which was a mass of wolves. Their godhoods were battling simply through their auras. Right when they were about to start, a woman they both knew well appeared between them.

She had changed a lot in the past 300 years but Ley Vasille, or the hidden Queen as she was called by others, looked at them both. She was more beautiful than she had ever been her hair was a blonde so close to platinum that it almost had a metallic sheen and the robe she wore hugged the curves of her body leaving very little to the imagination while a visor blocked her eyes from being seen. "How is it possible that the two of you are still such idiots despite being the strongest beings of the Ark? You can't just spend the next several weeks fighting with both of you injured. One attack and let it be over, cut the bs, the seers have alerted me, we have bigger fish to fry immediately. The myriad realms are moving once more."

They both sighed and resigned themselves to their orders after Rowan and Regius both spoke up in dissent only for Ley to threaten calling their respective wives. She vanished after they agreed, while Regius called both Empry and Furia to him. Empry combined with his body to become the strongest mech in creation. Furia on the other hand fused with the world sword allowing it to take its great sword form while a sheath formed on Rowan's side and he used the armament spell to create the floating arms that all were priming his quick draw attack, which remained when combined with all his boosting and other spells his most potent attack. It had now even combined with the power of his godhood of devouring so the attack would devour as it decimated. It was the perfect display of his godhood.

Rowan, on the other hand, required much less preparation. His godhood was special in itself. The circle on his chest began to glow and then it floated off from his body and became a massive door while a sea of gems poured out. The gems all became unique weapons of all different types and then Rowan entered battle state and began to split until there was a battle ready version of him wielding each of the weapons. It was Rowan's godhood, a storm of weapons and perfect clones of himself, that retained his power due to the massive amount of souls he kept at his beck and call. He had named it the vault of the gods.

They both looked at each other and smiled while they reminisced about how far they had truly come and how Regius had found his true battle partner after so long. To date, since Rowan became a true god, their record had been completely even on wins and losses. They released all of their mana in one go, as they both shouted out at the same time. "Storm Stoop Legion!" "Valkyrie's Last Kiss!" The two attacks met in the middle of the sky and the collision shook the ark and caused stars to blink out of existence. The denizens of the Ark would call this moment the duel of an Era as it marked the end of Regius Lowe being the solo leader of the Ark and becoming one of the now two pillars of their profound institution.

The Empyrean system had truly done its job and given birth to a true blue primordial and being like none other. The two young primordials would soon be faced to face with some of their biggest trials as they began to implement their plan to have their own piece of the myriad realms. This would mark the start of a war that would shake the foundations of the myriad realms to its very core with the Ark at its center.

60 years later, year 500 of the Ark calendar, to be exact. The two sat in their chairs once more, but this time they were simply talking about random things when all of a sudden Rowan snapped to Regius with a serious look on his face. "Master, Ley never tells me anything. I know you know what beast clan is going to give rise to the next god, which is it? Why did Ley only tell me that it is the return of past karma made flesh? WHY ARE SEERS SO CRYPTIC." Regius watched him agonize before lighting his cigarette. It had changed once more. The smoke that came from it was blue like his heavenly wolf flame. It gave a feeling of terror just from being around it. "It's going to be the dragons. He will be born after the new year. He has awoken his soul trait."

Rowan looked at his master, appalled, before a grin came over his face. "Oh, you are only guessing, not even I can tell a person's soul trait before they are fully born. A mother masks her child's soul perfectly until they leave the womb. Regius had a creepy grin come over his face that mixed with the royal blue scent and gave him a rather ominous feeling. "You are right, in most cases, except this one. I don't know his soul trait because I was able to discern it. I know it because the child was able to tell me it." Rowan froze and spluttered into the cup he had just brought to his lips and was about to say impossible when Regius cut him off.

"He has awoken a soul trait I have seen once before, a very, very long time ago. His intelligence blossomed the moment his soul was born, which, for a dragon, took exactly one month. He was lonely without his mother, able to hear him and just feel him move. So he called out to the mana of the Ark itself and for some reason it connected him to me so I answered. We began to chat, and I decided to give him a gift before he starts his journey just like I did you." Rowan was nodding along, not fully convinced he wasn't being lied to or that his master had gone crazy when he got to the next part. "I think I may have overdone it though because I gave him all of my knowledge, including our cultivations paths and if I'm not wrong, I think he is going to emerge from the womb a demigod more powerful than either one of us at that stage by miles."

Rowan finally had enough of his master fucking with him when he stood up and was about to yell at him when a black pillar that came from the beast continent pierced the sky and formed an image of a magnificent black crystal tree that sparkled with starlight among its leaves and had stars hanging from its braches like fruit. "Oh Regius…. What the fuck have you done?"