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"Now, let's continue. I want to become a Demon Lord but that's not why I'm here."
"What's your true purpose?"
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"I'd like your kingdom to form something humans called a bilateral relationship with my Star Island."
"Relationship?"
"Yeah, trust me it's all I want. I want to be on friendly terms with people, especially humans & I'd like you to be my first."
Hinamatsuri couldn't help but steal a glance at Asteri once again for his statement.
"You… you're really different. Demon Lords seek power, but you're following your own path."
"I sought power until I became it. There's nothing left to chase."
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Entares muttered a curse, temporarily taking hold of the unwanted personality lingering within Asteri.
"I came to this World for two purposes: fun and friends."
He continued, completely unaware of the weight of his own words.
"O....oh, but still you'll be the first Demon Lord to be interacting with humans in a good way."
"Sure. So what do you say?"
"After everything you have done for me, I see no reason to decline."
"Feel free to say no if you want. I won't force you."
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Two distinct voice spoke from within, Entares and a primordial persona.
Asteri ignored them, completely oblivious to the turmoil unfolding within himself.
"No, I really want this to happen between us."
Hinamatsuri didn't take that likely as she's had enough of them in direct flattery. She popped up, unable to contain the anger or should I say jealousy. Asteri, ever observant yet deliberately detached, proceed silently.
"Um... don't get the wrong idea, Lady Hinamatsuri."
Towa who read the room, quickly apologised.
"Oh...no problem, just don't use honorifics on me."
She replied with a smile which delivered the message to both sides.
"Forgive me."
"So, what do humans normally do after this?"
Asteri quickly changed the topic.
"Sign papers."
"You have them?"
"You are the one who asks, so you are the one who provides."
"Here it is my Lord."
Shinn already did some research and made his own for the Master to use.
"Ah, already? You're very reliable, Shinn."
Asteri didn't need to finish the sentence but Eto got the message. He's not the best clone.
"I'm not worthy of such praise."
"Here, sign."
Asteri signed and passed it to her.
"Good now let's shake hands.."
"It's not my thing to decide but that is not actually necessary."
Eto, who was silent, intervened.
"Um..yeah. Signing is ok."
Towa said. Eto winked at Hinamatsuri, he seems to know where she's heading to. Now that Asteri is against him, he has to burn his banner.
<
Asteri cursed, unable to do anything. Nothing can change the way Eto is misbehaving expect Antares. So he let him off this time.
"Now the problem is transportation. Where do you live, Asteri san?"
"Some island in the north?"
"North? That's too far, it'll take weeks if not months to get there."
"You forgot I can use magic?"
"Oh... sorry."
"I'll create a friendly teleportation portal. I'll make it usable once a day, that's good?"
"Sure...no problem."
"We're, do you want it then?"
"Follow me please."
She led the way to her preferred location.
"Here please, I'll have guards guarding it always. But before that I need something like that'll give me control over the portal so that random people can't be using it."
"Smart. I'll give you a necklace... bracelet that has controls on it."
He corrected himself but it was too late, Hinamatsuri was already giving him that smile.
"It'll detect if the portal is being used and you can stop it from going through. But if you deactivate it once the magic is activated, anyone there will be stuck in the corridor."
It was a bad situation but it was for the best.
"Even if the bracelet is stolen they can't activate the portal."
He said before placing the golden bracelet on her right wrist.
"Ok... thanks."
Shinn had already set up the portal and was waiting.
"You go..."
Asteri's words barely left his lips when his hand shot forward with sudden, overwhelming force.
The slap landed with a deafening crack, echoing through the hall like a thunderclap. Eto's body was lifted off his feet, the sheer impact propelling him through the air uncontrollably.
In an instant, he was swallowed by the portal, vanishing from sight as the residual energy of the strike rippled through the space around them. Those present remained frozen and stunned.
Asteri activated a hologram, the shimmering projection revealing Eto struggling to regain his balance on the other side of the portal.
"Now, come back."
He commanded calmly.
At once, Eto straightened, brushing dust from his robes, and walked back through the portal with measured steps, his expression unreadable but compliant.
"Good. Everything is complete."
Asteri said, a satisfied smile curling across his face.
"Thank you so much, Asteri-san."
"It feels good to help, Queen Towa."
"Eh? What? You don't need to call me that."
"I will, if you keep addressing me that way."
"Ok. I'll keep it in mind."
"Good. We'll be going then. See you later."
"Sure, safe trip."
Asteri and his crew were teleported back to the Star Palace. With this, the two nations stood at a tie, and for Asteri, it marked a significant step forward in his plans and journey.
Later that night, Asteri sat in his room when Hinamatsuri quietly appeared at the doorway.
"Excuse me."
"Hina."
He greeted softly.
She stepped inside and took a seat beside him on the same couch, her presence calm but deliberate.
"What's wrong?"
He asked, concern flickering in his eyes.
"I never saw that side of you before, but I did today."
"Ah, don't mind Lady Elara. She always treats me that way."
"You two must be really close?"
"Very close.
I'm an anomaly back home. An Anomaly and a Prodigy, nothing was impossible for me as long as I gave it a try. Before I knew it, Hypergods and Supergods developed interest in me.
Lady Elara was there for me long before that. It's like I was created in her Domain. She treated me well and told me a lot of stuff about our kind that some don't even know. At first I thought she was just a regular Hypergod but turns out she's a Supernova."
"Supernova? What's that?"
"Stars that transcend their own kind and evolve into unknown entities. In simple terms, they possess special qualities bestowed by either the Creator or something beyond the Star Realm itself. They are often referred to as Omnis, embodying the traits of being omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient.
They are true Gods even to the Hypergods, the intermediate tier between Supernovas and Stars.
She told me directly who she was, but I didn't take it seriously. At the time, I was consumed by training with Ton, someone like me, unique, and a genius beyond reason. He was the true prodigy of the Pond, the Paragon of Genesis, while I… I am the Paragon of Paradox."
"Is he your brother or something?"
"Stars aren't like humans. Some live independently, but if you're born under a specific Domain, you fall under the one who maintains that Domain. Those Domains themselves are guided by a Supernova."
"So it's fair to say you were created in Lady Elara's Domain."
"No. Wills—Stars, spawn randomly. She told me directly that I was an anomaly, born both above and below the Star Realm at the same time. But by the time she arrived to take me, I was already complete, existing above the Star Realm."
"Above it?"
"Yeah."
Hinamatsuri spoke quietly, almost in awe.
"You really are strong. Sometimes I wonder why humans are so weak."
"Fun fact, out of all species ever created, humans are the most beloved by the Grand Lord."
He decided to shift the spotlight to her creator.
"Grand Lord?"
"The being who created this World. The one who extracted the Supreme Star God from the Holy Spirit of Light."
"Wh… what?"
"Sorry. That's information humanity doesn't have access to. Even among Stars, not everyone knows this. Still, Lady Elara told me everything. She said the Grand Lord once lived somewhere in this very Cardinal World, far to the east."
"The God, lived among us?"
"I shouldn't tell you this but he reincarnated as a human to live a new life. And since he has reincarnated, he is bound by laws he created meaning he can die."
"...."
"This happened thousands of years back. Although some Stars are older than the Cardinal World, for us it is just like yesterday. The time flow at home is different. So fractured."
"So he's...."
Asteri nodded.
"He's no more. But we still have hope that this is all part of his plans."
(Hehe boi:)
"Yes..."
"I'd like to show you my True Body but I'm under his restriction so I saved this for times like this. Here.."
Asteri spread his palm, and a hologram of his younger self appeared, the same child version that had once appeared before Ramiris.
Hinamatsuri's eyes widened in surprise, and a faint blush coloured her cheeks. She couldn't look away, her gaze fixed on him as she quietly absorbed the innocent charm radiating from his miniature form.
"Y... you really look alike."
"My vessel was designed to look like me."
"Oh… okay… but this is you when you're a child, right?"
Asteri chuckled softly.
"I might look like a kid, but I'm over two thousand years old."
That was the last thing she expected to hear.
"Tw… two thousand years old?"
"Looks can be deceiving. Besides, I chose to stay like this. She told me to change, but I didn't. Compared to my True Body, this is actually younger. My Battle Form, on the other hand, looks a bit older, around ten to twelve years old."
"Battle form?"
"Some Stars don't fight using their main body. I've never used mine in combat, so I created a separate form solely for battle. It's optional, but useful. Some even turn their Battle Form into their True Body, Ton did."
"Ton, huh?"
"My sensei. His True Body is actually younger than his otherworldly vessel. The point is, size doesn't matter to us, energy does. With this vessel, I can only use about eighty per cent of my power. Anything beyond that, and this body would start to crumble."
"But you said you're under restriction."
"I know. Remember that world when we met Lady Elara?"
"Yeah."
"I fought Guy there. There's no restrictions since it's my world and I can do anything. But now I can only use 20% of my true powers."
"Sorry... it must be hard."
"Really hard. I have to keep up with the magic level of this world or I might destroy everything. That's why I need to control my power now while I can."
"Yep."
"Anything can happen & if I'm forced to fight here in this world, it'll be a mess."
"Anything I can do to help?"
"Anything you can do."
"It's not much, but I will cheer you up."
"It's too much. This is the first time I'll be receiving something like this."
Hinamatsuri smiled.
"That's easy. But if that's what you want I got your back. Forgive me for asking but Lady Elara said something about being punished if you're in love, why?"
"As she said, Stars are devoid of emotions. We don't see each other like humans do, no family ties, just equality with differences in status, skill, and experience.
Some emotions are forbidden. Love is off-limits. Hatred, guilt, sadness might be tolerated, but they're closely watched. This is enforced by a Divine Order: break it, and the punishment is death or a seal. Even immortals can't escape, as Truths backed by an Order are absolute.
Laws also hold power, shaping reality and Major Concepts, but even they exist only because an Order willed them."
I paused, realizing I had said far more than I intended.
"I was a little talkative today."
"Yes. It's almost as if you're a different person."
"I am… I am a different person around you."
Hinamatsuri flushed crimson, unable to meet his gaze.
Calmly, Asteri lifted his fingers and gently turned her face towards his, her cheeks burning even brighter.
"Lady Elara and Ramiris were right. Maybe I do have feelings. Maybe I can feel what you all feel."
Being devoid of emotions did not mean they could not be learned or understood, only that he was beginning to formulate what they truly were.
Like a highly logical AI or sociopath might analyze human emotions without feeling them.
"..."
"I ..."
Without knocking, Eto and Elaine stepped into the room, as if they had been waiting for this exact moment.
"Umm, forgive me… I thought you were alone. I'll go now."
Elaine said apologetically, Eto merely smiled, saying nothing.
"It's alright, Lady Elaine. I… I was about to leave. Good night, Asteri-san."
Hinamatsuri's face still flushed, she exited the room.
"See you tomorrow, Lady Hina."
Elaine waved briefly before turning toward the door.
The two re-entered the room and quietly closed it behind them. Asteri's aura subtly radiated around him as he spoke, filling the space with an unspoken presence.
"You guys…"
"Forgive us… we thought you were alone."
Eto's face went pale as he stammered an immediate apology.
"Y… yes, sir."
"Stop playing games. You two can use sensory magic!"
Asteri's rage descended like a tempest, his fist striking with overwhelming force. Eto was sent hurtling through the air, crashing straight out of the Palace window, the impact leaving the hall trembling in its wake.
"Forgive me... it's Ban he left to the Kingdom of Ingrassia without telling you."
"So what? You were there when I told him he can leave whenever he wishes, weren't you?"
He glared sharply, and Elaine lowered her head, trembling. Eto had dragged her into this with a flimsy excuse, and now he was gone.
"Y… yes."
She muttered.
Asteri sighed, his anger fading as quickly as it had risen.
"Oh, Elaine-chan."
He said casually, his tone softening.
"Lady Elara sends her regards."
The sudden shift in mood caught her off guard, but she smiled faintly.
"Um… thank you, Young Master."
She bowed and quietly left the room. Asteri exhaled deeply, collapsing onto the couch. His eyes lingered on his reflection shimmering faintly on the crystal ceiling above.
"What has gotten into me?"
He murmured, a faint trace of guilt shadowing his voice.
Meanwhile, Hinamatsuri had returned to her room. Issei was already fast asleep. She lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, her thoughts a tangled mess.
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To be continued...