★7§4.5
"Behold, the Cerberus. Fafnir, Eltanin and Fang of the Draco Constellation."
(From left to right.)
They all had silver hair, golden eyes, and horns. Fafnir wore a twilight-colored outfit so dark that his long silver hair almost glowed against it. Two horns curved from his head, and a jagged scar ran the length of his face. He seemed calm, yet even I could sense something burning deep within him.
Fang, on the other hand, was shirtless, the spikes protruding from his body leaving no room for clothing. His skin bore countless scars, and some of his spikes were chipped or broken, signs of heavy damage. A single horn jutted from his head, his hair cut short. Unlike Fafnir, his expression radiated unrestrained wrath. He had to be the impatient one.
Lastly, their leader, Eltanin, was clad in white. Three horns crowned his head, and his medium-length hair framed a face marked by quiet authority. His calm was unshakable, his faint smile unwavering, as though nothing could disrupt the control he held over himself and perhaps over everyone else in the room.
"Greetings, My Lady."
Eltanin spoke first, lowering his head.
"Tch, what does the Mother of Life want from us?"
Fang growled, his face twitching. Then came a slap from Fafnir catching Fang off guard. The victim crashed on the floor, his head stuck buried within it.
"Your head should be this low in front of Her Majesty."
Fafnir said, pinning Fang's head to the floor.
"It's a habit and I've grown used to it. Release him, Fafnir."
At Ela's request, Fafnir obeyed and returned to his previous position, joining Eltanin in a bow. Fang stood up annoyed and frustrated so he joined the duo and bowed.
"These guys must be occupying the first three spots right?"
I asked. There's no way they'll be any lower.
"Almost."
"Almost?"
"Yes. You'll get to meet him so don't worry.
The Draco Constellation, the only Dragon in the Pond. Just like us Stars, Dragons here are considered Supreme."
"How?"
"The Star Dragon was a being created by someone to see the Star Realm from a different perspective."
"Another new figure."
"He's not just any new figure, he's the creator of the Star God."
"Heh? The Creator of my Creator?"
"Yes. Since he's like a grandfather to Stars, we address him as Grand Lord. His real name is Lord Veldanava and his avatar was a Dragon."
"Things just keep getting weird."
(Right? I just hope it's not too complicated. Like I said, I'll explain more in the future.)
"Just like the Pond, Grand Lord has his own Multiverse. At the dawn of creation, Lord Veldanava created the Seven Angels of Origin/Seraphim from the Great Holy Spirit of Light to help him in his works. But before the Seven Angels appeared, something else emerged. That something took form, and became someone, the Supreme Star God.
After mimicking his Creator, the Grand Lord needs to be part of this new civilisation but unfortunately, he can't be part of it himself so he created the Supreme Star Dragon."
"Even as descendants of the great blood, we didn't exactly know how it all came to be."
Eltanin spoke up.
"Hmph, you never asked and even if you did I won't tell you all. Since I'm already there, I'll tell you how you guys came into being."
"We are fragments of a Dragon right?"
Fafnir asked, as if that's all there is to how they were created.
"Yes. But you don't know which Dragon and nobility they hail from."
The trio raised their heads, curious to know about their kind.
"When the Star Dragon died, his essence broke into six Fragments. Each chose a Dragon, and those six became the Monarchs. They're the ones who make the Dragon Deity who governs Kalidor."
She paused.
"And that's already too much information."
Ela leaned back into her throne, a quiet ease settling over her posture.
"Thanks more than enough, My Lady."
Eltanin bowed once again, his smile unwavering.
"The Draco Constellation are by far the strongest Constellation in Elyvra and is possibly in the top 30 Constellations in the Pond currently. As Dragons, they're naturally strong, so no need to dive into their abilities. I'll introduce them formally..."
Eltanin, the First Head, the mind and will of the Dragon. Once the central head of the beast, Eltanin retained the power of command. His gaze alone could chart the paths of falling stars. All Draco and Cerberus obey him without question.
Fafnir, the Second Head, the heart and fury of the Dragon. Once the left head, he holds the Dragon's unmatched strength and hunger for battle. Though he submits to Eltanin's direction, it is his wrath that fuels the Cerberus' might.
Fang, the Third Head, the fangs and venom of the Dragon. Once the right head, he is the swiftest and deadliest. His loyalty is unshaken, yet his impatience sometimes forces Eltanin or Fafnir's hand as seen earlier.
When they separated, a pact was formed, Eltanin would lead, Fafnir would guard his flank, and Fang would protect the rear, for a Cerberus with heads at war is no Cerberus at all.
"I don't understand the last part."
"It means unity is what makes us strong. Without that, we'll just be three beasts chained to one body."
Fafnir answered.
"Ok. What's your rank as Supergods?"
"If not for that slothful bastard, we'll be the first, second and third. That fool!"
Fang snapped.
"Someone's stronger than these guys?"
"Power-wise, Cerberus wins. Speed-wise, they win. IQ-wise, Cerberus wins too."
"So what's making the slothful bastard so strong?"
I asked.
"I'm not sure that's how you should be addressing a Supergod, Dwarf."
A childlike voice echoed around the hall. Clearly uninvited.
"Show yourself, Cepheus!"
Fang growled.
"I'll pardon you just this once and I'll answer your question."
He ignored Fang's existence which pissed the latter..
"It's not strength, not speed, not IQ, nor transcendence. Nothing tricky, it's just me."
"Fafnir, tell me where he is!"
Fafnir shook his head. He knew where Cepheus was hiding, but engaging them wasn't the right choice. Not with Ela present.
"Take it easy, Fang. Just let him be."
Eltanin's magic was working. No one can tame a beast like Fang.
"That's right. Just do as he says. Like a faithful companion."
The voice broke the ice and the Angel took measures before Fang did.
"Errai of Cepheus. You've stepped out of line. I'll see to it that you get punished."
In her words, a bolt of lightning struck a pillar, and a voice rang out in the aftermath.
"He has been ejected from the hall. Please continue."
She resumed in a business-like tone.
"Where were we before that brat interrupted?"
Fafnir asked.
"The other Supergods scale higher due to possession. We, the Cerberus, scale higher due to possession and transcendence."
Eltanin replied.
"Malmok of Virgo has... sorry. He never mentioned how many Superworlds possess."
"1690792."
Ela replied.
"Well, even the 4th rank, Fang, has 2.1 million Superworlds. Due to his carelessness, Fafnir has added that sum to his pieces, making a total of 14.6 million. This includes the natural Superworlds and the ones they've created. The ones we create are mostly for fun, and they aren't habitable."
"Why?"
"Due to the high dimensionality and abnormal transcendence, we use them as experiments to break past our limits. The base dimension in my collection is 9D."
Fafnir replied.
"9D? What's that?"
"Just take note of the numbers. I'll tell you about them later."
Ela suggested.
"O..ok."
"The human world is 3D. Possibly 4D if you're including time as the fourth dimension. However, I possess partial transcendence over time so I can replace the fourth dimension (time) with a spatial dimension."
"I get the dimensionality stuff, but I don't quite understand what you're transcending and why it's increased your rank."
Fafnir looked up at Ela for confirmation. She said she's going to tell me about it but I need to know something.
"Just a few basics concerning Minor Concepts."
She added, and Fafnir nodded.
"Ok. I'll brush it off and talk about transcendence. You should know each world is a reality on its own. Be it a Superworld or a Hyperworld."
"I was informed about that."
"Minor Concepts are bound to only one world."
He raised one finger.
"I command millions of Superworlds, and every one of them lies under my control. These Minor Concepts shape the fabric of each reality, and because they define worlds, they naturally branch into Structural Concepts like...
Time - Each World flows at its own pace: some with perfect symmetry, others with chaotic or fractured time.
Dimensionality - Some universes are bound to 3D space, others expand into 4D, 44D, 444D, or far beyond.
Morality - In certain Worlds, the Stars are immortal; in others, death leads to reincarnation.
Causality - Some Worlds obey perfect cause-and-effect; others allow paradoxes to flourish without collapse.
Origin - Each World's creation follows its own law, whether through divine birth, cosmic assembly, chaotic bloom, or our personal intervention.
Finality - Some Worlds permit resurrection; others bind death as an eternal, unbroken law.
Entropy - The slow..."
Eltanin cough.
"I think that's enough. Move on, please."
I'm pretty sure Fafnir was willing to list them all, but thank Star, Eltanin saved me.
"Ok.
"Aside from the Structural Concepts, we have Relational Concepts. These two are part of Minor Concepts, and I'll make them brief and understandable.
These concepts go by a lot of names. Mind-born Concepts-they depend on us to exist. Ideatic Concepts-born from ideas themselves. Cultural Concepts-shaped by the beliefs of societies. Ephemeral Concepts-fragile can be easily altered or erased. Echo Concepts-mere remnants lingering in thought and memory. Anthropic Concepts-existing only because the mind both creates and perceives them.."
(Not necessary to know them all.)
Eltanin cleared his throat, a polite but pointed reminder to keep it brief.
"Come on, that's brief."
"You can do better than that."
Fafnir sighed, gently shaking his head.
"Relational Concepts exist only because thinking beings imagine, agree upon, or emotionally invest in them. Examples of said concepts are justice, hope, love, honour, beauty, war, loyalty, mercy, fear, tradition, wealth, art, language, friendship etc.
We don't 'love' anything so said Concept is nonexistent in the Worlds. But the moment a Star develops that emotion,"
He snaps.
"It gets created.
They can change rapidly with culture, species, or even individuals. They might vanish entirely if no one remembers or values them.
It's extremely rare but sometimes they "ascend" into stronger conceptual forms if they become universal truths in reality.
The last part is a bit complicated so I'll leave it at that. Now these are the Concepts that are transcended.
However, it only applies to Structural Concepts. A World can transcend all Relational Concepts and still eat the dust but a World can transcend one Structural Concept and take the golden medal. Not fair right? Welp, reality doesn't play fair either."
"Did you understand?"
Ela asked.
"Y...yes. Yes, I do."
"Ok. Good, I hope you do because things aren't going to get easy from here on out."
"There you have it for transcendence. If you need more lectures, just say the word and Fafnir will respond. That's if My Lady accepts."
Eltanin spoke looking directly at Ela.
"I'll teach him what I can and leave the rest for you. Don't get your hopes right though."
"50-50 your Highness."
"Jezz, I'm tired of standing."
The impatient Fang complained.
"Then sit."
Eltanin replied.
"Or sleep."
Fafnir added. They're picking up on him and there's nothing he can do about it.
"I haven't said a word, Mother of Life. Permit my departure."
"You can leave if."
"Not on my watch."
With a snap, Fang froze. Not in ice but in absolute half. As if time was frozen for him.
"Wow, what's that? How can you do that?"
I asked enthusiastically.
"It's nothing much. I just separated his consciousness from his body."
Fafnir replied.
"Cool. Can you teach me?"
He didn't reply, of course, he wouldn't. Not with Ela's Order. I felt awkward so I sat down.
"This kid, he's strange. The Goddess has a thing for young Stars, but this one is different."
"And how's that, Eltanin?"
His grin widened.
"Let's start with you've rarely summoned Constell Overlords which you did and brought a young Star to attend. That's never happened, not before my eyes."
"What else can you tell?"
"He has taken in something not every White Dwarf knows yet...he's calm."
"Eltanin, Fafnir and Fang, of Draco Constellation. Your presence is no longer needed in this hall."
The Angel intervened.
"Do you mind if I ask for your name, Young Star?"
Eltanin asked, the shadow carpet reacting to their loading departure.
"Antares. Antares of Scorpios."
Their eyes widened in surprise but they didn't say a word.
"I see...I see. It's a pleasure to come to the heart of Elyvra. I bid you farewell, My Lady."
With Fang released, he joined the duo in a bow. They remained in that position as they sank into the shadow and in the blink of an eye, it trailed off and left that hall.
"They didn't need the feathers for protection, how and why?"
"Errai of Cepheus Constellation. You've been permitted to step inside. Due to your interruptions, your time has been drastically reduced. If I were you I'd come in real quick."
The Angel announced.
To be continued...