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"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.
Almost suddenly, a slap came 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."
He 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. But he obediently 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?"
I repeated.
"Yes. You'll get to meet him so don't worry.
The Draco Constellation, the only dragons in the Pond currently. Just like us Stars, the dragons in the Star Realm are also considered Supreme Beings."
"How?"
I thought that seat was ment for Stars alone? My pride kicking in.
"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 the Stars, we natural address him as Grand Lord. His real name is Lord Veldanava."
"Things just keep getting weird."
(Right? I just hope it's not too complicated.)
"Just like the Pond, Grand Lord has his own multiverse, a world system."
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 needed to be part of this new civilisation but unfortunately, he can't be part of it himself so he created the Star Dragons."
"Even as descendants of the great blood, we didn't exactly know how it all came to be."
Eltanin said, ignorant of how and why dragons came to be in the Star Realm.
"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, nor the nobility they hail from."
The trio raised their heads, eyes wide, curiosity burning bright.
The weight of their lineage suddenly made the air around them feel heavier, as if the truth of their origin carried both power and expectation.
"After the Rebellion, the Star Dragon's essence shattered into six fragments. Each fragment chose a dragon, and those six became the Monarchs. They are the foundation of the Dragon Deity who governs Kalidor."
She paused, letting the weight of her words settle. "And that… is already far too much information."
Ela leaned back into her throne, a quiet ease in her posture, as if the knowledge alone had already shaped the air around them. As if knowledge of the old Class is forbidden to share with anyone.
"Thanks… more than enough, My Lady."
Eltanin bowed deeply once again, a calm, unwavering smile on his face.
"The Draco Constellation are by far the strongest Constellation in Elyvra and is possibly in the top thirty Constellations in the Pond currently. As dragons, they're naturally strong, so no need to dive into their abilities. I shall 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. All Draco and Cerberus species obey him without question.
Fafnir, the Second Head, the heart and fury of the Dragon. Once the left head, Fafnir 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."
I pressed.
"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?"
I asked, the thrill of power surging through me.
"If not for that slothful bastard, we'd be first, second, and third. That fool!"
Fang snapped, annoyed.
"Someone stronger than these guys?"
I inquired.
"Power-wise, Cerberus wins. Speed-wise, they win. IQ-wise, Cerberus wins too."
"So what's making the slothful bastard so strong?"
"I'm not sure that's how you should be addressing a Supergod, you careless little Dwarf."
A childlike voice echoed through the hall, clearly uninvited.
"Show yourself, Cepheus!"
Fang growled.
"I'll pardon you this once—and I'll answer your question."
He ignored Fang entirely, which only fueled the his anger.
"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 in the presence of the Goddess.
"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 we possess."
"1,690,792."
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 posses 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 replied, 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."
"Good. 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 clears his throat.
"I think that's enough. Move on, please."
I'm pretty sure Fafnir was willing to list them all, but thank stars, Eltanin saved me the lecture.
"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 again, a polite but pointed reminder to keep it brief.
"Come on, that's brief."
Fafnir complained.
"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, mercy, fear, tradition, friendship etc.
When we don't 'love' anything, 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. 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, for now.
"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, her gaze sharp but patient.
"Y… yes. Yes, I do."
I nodded, forcing my attention to every word.
Attentive listening had always been enough to grasp the basics, and I wasn't about to falter now.
"Good."
She said, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
"I hope you do, because things aren't going to get easy from here on out."
Her words carried a quiet warning, but also a challenge. Somewhere deep inside, a spark of excitement flickered. This was only the beginning, and I was ready—or at least, as ready as a Star could be.
"There you have it for transcendence. If you need more lectures, just say the word, and Fafnir will respond. That is, if My Lady accepts."
Eltanin said, his gaze flicking toward Ela with respect.
"I'll teach him what I can and leave the rest for you. Don't get your hopes up too high, though."
Ela replied, her tone firm but patient.
"Fifty-fifty, Your Highness."
Eltanin countered, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Jeez, I'm tired of standing."
Fang complained, his impatience obvious.
"Then sit,"
Eltanin replied calmly.
"Or sleep,"
Fafnir added, a low rumble in his voice.
They were picking up on him, on his impatience and energy, but there was nothing he could do about it.
All he could do was watch, a silent observer to their effortless dominance, and accept that the learning process came with its own rules.
"I haven't said a word, Mother of Life. Permit my departure."
"You can leave when we're done."
"Not on my watch."
With a snap, Fang froze—not in ice, but in absolute halt, as if time itself had paused around him.
"Wow… what's that? How can you do that?"
I asked, eyes wide with excitement.
"It's nothing much. I just separated his consciousness from his body."
Fafnir replied, his tone calm.
"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 First Head asked.
"The Goddess has a thing for young Stars, but this one is different."
"And how's that, Eltanin?"
She asks and his grin widened.
"Let's start with this: you've rarely summoned Constellation Overlords, yet you did, and you even brought a young Star to attend. That's unprecedented, at least before my eyes."
"What else can you tell?"
"He has taken in something not every White Dwarf knows yet… and he remains calm."
"Eltanin, Fafnir and Fang, of Draco Constellation. Your presence is no longer needed in this hall."
The Angel intervened, times up.
"Do you mind if I ask for your name, Young Star?" Eltanin asked, the shadowed carpet beneath them rippling subtly as if acknowledging their presence.
"Antares. Antares of Scorpios."
Their eyes widened in surprise, a flicker of awe passing through their expressions, yet no words came.
The weight of the name seemed to hang in the air, heavy with history and unspoken reverence.
"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 the 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… quickly."
The Angel's voice was firm, carrying the weight of authority.
"That carpet was their protection."
"You got me good back there, Ayla."
The voice from earlier echoed into the hall as Errai made his way in.
To be continued...