"It happened like this."
Archsage Solarian spoke first.
His tone was steady, but the words came quickly, as if he feared being interrupted.
Three years ago, a chaotic singularity condensed within the upper strata of reality.
A sentient mass of unstable primordial energy.
It absorbed ambient power endlessly. It reacted to stimuli. It caused disasters simply by existing.
The High Architect intervened personally.
Solarian and Vexar had been dispatched first, but neither possessed the means to restrain it.
Only the High Architect succeeded.
Rather than destroying the singularity, it was divided.
One half became an Aether Core.
The other became an Infernal Core.
The Infernal Core was indestructible, so the High Architect placed a catastrophic fail-safe upon it.
After three years, a cosmic purge would descend and erase it completely.
The Aether Core, meanwhile, was entrusted to Solarian.
He was ordered to place it within a mortal bloodline blessed by exceptional destiny, allowing it to reincarnate naturally.
The child born from that lineage would one day become a central figure in an upcoming cosmic war.
If Solarian succeeded, he would be elevated into the ranks of the Ascendants.
After issuing these decrees, the High Architect withdrew alongside other supreme beings to construct a reality-spanning artifact meant to govern the coming conflict.
Solarian lowered his eyes.
"But during the descent, something went wrong."
Vexar sabotaged the process.
He secretly swapped the two cores.
The Aether Core was stolen.
The Infernal Core was implanted instead.
Thus, Pyros was born carrying the Infernal Core.
And Glacien, son of the Deep Tide Dominion, was implanted with the Aether Core.
Now, three years had passed.
The purge targeting the Infernal Core was imminent.
Pyros would be annihilated.
Vexar, desperate to erase evidence of the swap, intended to use Glacien to wipe out Chentang Pass entirely.
Their pursuit and clashes eventually spilled into the World-Seal Canvas.
When Solarian finished, Rowan's expression remained unreadable.
"It sounds simple," Rowan said.
"Solarian and Pyros are the righteous side. Vexar and Glacien are the villains."
Solarian did not respond.
Rowan didn't move to hand over the brush.
Good and evil meant very little to him.
Utility meant everything.
Which side benefited him more.
Which side created fewer long-term problems.
That was what mattered.
And Solarian's account, while coherent, was still only one perspective.
Rowan turned his gaze toward Glacien.
"Your turn."
He paused, then added, "You speak."
Glacien remained silent for several seconds before finally nodding.
"Long before I was born," Glacien said quietly, "the Deep Tide Dominion rebelled against the Celestial Authority."
The rebellion failed.
Completely.
To prevent extermination, his father surrendered.
He personally sealed the remaining Dragon Lords and countless sea-born entities into an abyssal prison.
In exchange, the Dominion was spared.
But crippled.
Bound.
Forbidden from leaving their territories.
"For my people to ever recover," Glacien continued, "we needed leverage."
Vexar approached his father.
They formed an agreement.
If Vexar gained Ascendant status, he would shield the Dominion.
If I became a celebrated disciple of Solarian's faction, the Dominion would no longer be persecuted.
Neither side would dare attack us again.
Glacien's eyes lowered.
"At first, I did not know where my Aether Core came from."
"I met Pyros by chance."
"He became my only friend."
"When I learned the truth… I tried to protect his family."
"That exposed everything."
The core swap.
The theft.
The conspiracy.
"To preserve my people," Glacien said softly, "I had to obey my master."
"I never wanted Chentang Pass to die."
Silence followed.
Rowan activated his psionic perception.
No deception.
From either Solarian or Glacien.
Their stories aligned.
Different angles.
Same tragedy.
Rowan exhaled slowly.
"So in this world," he muttered, "even dragons live with their throats under someone else's boot."
The thought unsettled him.
Dragons were supposed to be apex beings.
Here, they were bargaining chips.
Rowan felt a headache forming.
Helping Solarian and Pyros would earn goodwill from a massive cosmic faction.
A faction with knowledge, artifacts, and infrastructure.
Extremely useful.
But Rowan also knew something important.
His strongest form was draconic.
One day, others might see him as kin to the Deep Tide Dominion.
Burning bridges with dragons now could bite him later.
And Vexar.
Rowan did not like him.
But Rowan also knew history favored schemers.
Vexar would survive long enough to become a major player in future conflicts.
Making an enemy of such a figure early was rarely wise.
Rowan looked at all four.
"I think everyone here is approaching this wrong."
He tapped the ice sphere with one finger.
It shattered.
The four figures emerged instantly, snapping back into guarded stances.
Rowan raised a hand.
"Relax."
"No one is dying here today."
They hesitated.
Slowly, the killing intent in the air thinned.
"Your problem isn't which side is right," Rowan continued.
"Your problem is that you're all trapped inside a bad outcome."
"You can keep racing toward it."
"Or we can change the track."
No one spoke.
Rowan met Glacien's eyes.
"You don't want Pyros dead."
Glacien nodded.
Rowan met Solarian's eyes.
"You don't want the Dominion exterminated."
Solarian hesitated, then nodded.
Rowan looked at Vexar.
"You don't want to be exposed."
Vexar's lips tightened.
Rowan spread his hands.
"Then sit down."
"Let's negotiate."
He had just arrived in this universe.
Starting a cosmic war on day one sounded exhausting.