Tales of the Endless Empire

Chapter 473: Calling Days

It were calling days in the elven empire of Solan. On a planet far enough away from the golden sun so that none of their younglings were negatively affected, the youths dueled each other in a grand golden arena.There were, of course, the children of elven gods, showing their parents and the other gods what they were capable of. Yet they weren’t the only ones. The greatest geniuses of the elven empire were also given the chance to duel and prove their worth to the gods. For those geniuses, a strong performance could result in receiving a blessing, which was why the slots for such events were fought over ruthlessly.

Besides gaining blessings, honoring their gods, and making their families or clans proud, there was one more major reason. With the new universe, an unnatural number of system events was about to begin. Some had to be entered alone, while others required strong parties. Since all the other gods would also send their children or Chosen into those events, they became incredibly dangerous—and one of the main reasons for a god losing their child.

This was also the main reason why Solan wanted to know the identity of Thalion’s patron. If a god was able to cheat this much in the tutorial, it was likely that this Thalion was just a test—designed to slip under the radar of powerful beings before that god sent their true Chosen into one of those trials.

Solan, of course, trusted his daughter—she was perfect in many ways—but what kind of father would he be if he didn’t risk everything to make her life as secure as possible?

Solan was seated in an area reserved only for the most powerful gods. This booth wasn’t reserved just because it offered the best view of the arena and its fighters, but also because powerful sealings had been integrated into it. Solan and his commanders were so strong that even flaring their aura by accident could kill any mortal in an instant. Not that it posed a real threat—no one could truly die under their gaze—but it still wasn’t a good look if contestants were accidentally smited due to carelessness, even if they were restored immediately. Repairing a mortal’s body and soul was trivial for a god of their power.

“How long will it take for Casandra to defeat this opponent?” Roguga laughed beside him. He was one of the strongest elven gods aside from Solan. He had short red hair, a well-built physique, and always wore a smug grin. His weapon of choice was a spear, with which he had slain innumerable gods over the years. They had known each other for countless eras, and Roguga was one of the first gods Solan had helped ascend back in the day. Roguga had over seventy children with different partners, while Casandra was Solan’s first child.

“Hmm… this one isn’t bad at all. He might even be able to join her party if he works hard,” Solan said in a serious tone.

“Barely enough? So you don’t think my son has worked hard enough, huh?” Roguga laughed loudly.

For both gods, it was obvious that their children would go through the trials together. Rugard, Roguga’s youngest son, was the same age as Casandra and had been trained under the direct guidance of a god his entire life. He was definitely one of the strongest youths of this generation. He resembled his father, though with long red hair, and he spun his spear around his body as if it weighed nothing.

Opposite him stood Casandra, her long golden hair flowing in the gentle wind. Both were at level one hundred eighty and continued refining themselves before ascending to D-grade, aiming to secure the highest possible class rarity. Postponing the evolution would also allow them to participate in a few E-grade trials that were about to appear.

“By the way, did you hear the story about this Thalion the Eclipsari are looking for? He won a level seven trial against other Chosen. Interesting, isn’t it? Sadly, it seems he already died. Too bad—I would have liked to see what made him so special,” Roguga said with a chuckle.

Roguga, of course, knew nothing about Solan’s plans or the orders he had given to the gods with Chosen in the new universe. Keeping that under wraps had been quite difficult.

As for why everyone believed Thalion was dead—well, after the rumors hadn’t completely died down, Solan had reached deep into his treasury to ensure that word of Thalion’s death spread everywhere. He wanted as little attention on this human as possible.

If the elves in the new universe didn’t get him, then the Eclipsari definitely would.

“Just a little bit, but the man is clearly sentenced to death once the Eclipsari take an interest in him,” Solan responded, hoping this would be the last time he heard that human’s name.

“True, true. That was really something extraordinary—having the Eclipsari make a move on us. Their leader has also grown in power. Still, even with all the wars erupting across the multiverse between godly factions, they’re still focused on that human. I find that very interesting,” Roguga remarked casually, not realizing how deeply unsettling this was for Solan.

“Maybe just an incident. Let’s focus on the fight. I say Casandra will win decisively in short order,” Solan said, trying to distract his annoying friend while subtly signaling the commentator on the opposite side to begin.

The S-grade elf turned pale and immediately started the fight, still shaken.

Neither of the fighters had been ready for such an abrupt start. Normally, the commentator would properly introduce them to the audience—but both were elites, trained for combat their entire lives.

Rugard exploded forward with speed, his spear barely visible as a blur. It was obvious he was a fighter much like his father. Casandra, on the other hand, was a mix between a light mage, a light warrior, and something Solan preferred to keep hidden—something inherited from her mother.

But he wasn’t worried. Even if she lost, she wouldn’t reveal that part of herself. If that ever came out, Solan might face real problems. Even as one of the strongest gods, he wouldn’t stand a chance if the others teamed up against him.

He watched with a faint smile as his daughter dodged and created distance with an explosion of light that launched her backward, forcing Rugard to sidestep. Using the brief moment of obscurity, she teleported upward and unleashed a barrage of heat-seeking light arrows at him.

Rugard was caught off guard, but reacted quickly—spinning his spear around his body at high speed to block the incoming attacks. The arrows exploded on impact, throwing him to the side.

Normally, he would have activated a boosting skill to recover from being caught off guard, but in this fight, such abilities were forbidden.

He quickly regained control and countered, firing a telekinetic dash from the tip of his spear like a projectile aimed at Casandra. This time, she was slightly too slow and only managed to raise a golden shield to protect herself.

The shield wasn’t strong enough to fully block the attack, and Casandra was sent crashing toward the ground.

Solan wasn’t worried in the slightest. He knew his daughter’s secret—and with her limited to only half her abilities, this was going very well.

Meanwhile, the crowd and commentator erupted in excitement, reacting with gasps and cheers at every exchange.

Casandra twisted midair like a cat before landing smoothly on her feet, two daggers of light forming in her hands just as Rugard closed the distance for melee combat.

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“That’s it, Rugard! Haha!” Roguga roared, slamming a fist into the air as his son pressed the advantage. Their previous fights had been one-sided, with Casandra dominating almost every time.

Casandra moved with a calm precision that felt unnerving for someone believed to be a light mage.

Then she struck.

She kicked Rugard’s leg, spun with lightning speed to his other side, and drove both light daggers into his body. The blades expanded inside him—and with a sharp twist and a pained cry, Rugard was bisected.

“Yes! That’s my girl!” Solan roared, jumping to his feet with a wide grin, fist raised.

Roguga looked at him, slightly perplexed, before teleporting down to heal his son. As the leader of the elven race, it wasn’t a good look to celebrate a fatal injury inflicted on one of their own—even if it was undone seconds later.

The commentator announced the victor to thunderous applause from the millions watching in the arena, which was as large as entire cities on old Earth.

Golden circles of light formed beneath Casandra and Rugard, lifting them up to their respective divine parents. The arena fell silent, eager to witness what guidance the most powerful gods would give their children.

Roguga began, offering detailed advice and even demonstrating a few movements himself, showing how Rugard should have handled the spear in that moment.

Then it was Solan’s turn.

He didn’t really have anything to say. And even if he did, it would be in private.

Instead, he relaxed slightly and asked a question that was starting to feel overused.

“And what do you think? You two would make a good pair for the duo trials that are about to appear for D-grade.”

But her answer wasn’t what he expected.

“Rugard is strong… but did you hear about this Thalion in the new universe?”

With that question, Solan’s left eye began to twitch while he did everything to keep his expression neutral.

After breathing in and out slowly, he answered like the leader of the elves should.

“Of course, I am informed about most things happening in the new universe and the first system events. But sadly, he seemed to have perished already.”

The sparks in his daughter’s eyes were something Solan really didn’t like. She better not mention that human again, or he would find a way to smuggle hundreds of Eclipsari into the new universe.

“Awesome, so you didn’t know either. One of our gods bought this information, and it’s completely new. Did you know that this Thalion was only F-grade when he won a level seven system event against Chosen? Also prove has appeard that he is still alive. This means someone is wasting insane amounts of treasures to make everyone believe he is dead. Isn’t that exciting? I would really like to meet this human.”

She had a constant smile on her face, her voice brimming with excitement. As she spoke, she summoned an image of a human in an intricate robe, golden skin, and crimson glowing eyes—casually sitting on a ship’s railing, a gentle smile playing on his lips, with the endless blue ocean behind him.

Solan was so shocked he couldn’t decide which of his bubbling emotions to embrace first.

As for Roguga and Rugard, they were completely dumbstruck. For someone in Casandra’s position, openly praising a human—especially over an elven fighter like Rugard, even if indirectly—was extremely disrespectful. The fact that the entire arena was listening didn’t help either, but Solan was too distracted to create a sound barrier.

In fact, in retrospect, he would never have asked his next question—especially with the crowd listening. But hindsight came too late, and right now Solan wasn’t thinking clearly. As a father, only one thought dominated his mind.

“You—you are interested in that human?” Solan stammered like an idiot.

At this point, Roguga, Rugard, and everyone in the audience were watching with widened eyes and open mouths. Casandra wasn’t just an elf—she was a high elf. For her to even consider getting close to a human was seen as betraying her race, one of the gravest crimes an elf could commit.

That, however, wasn’t why Solan reacted so emotionally. In fact, he had completely forgotten about that detail when asking the question.

“I mean… he does look interesting, doesn’t he?” she replied casually, unaware of what she was unleashing.

So far, she had never encountered any race other than elves. The fact that the two of them were talking about completely different things also went unnoticed.

When Solan asked if she was interested in the human, he obviously meant a romantic relationship. Casandra, on the other hand, hadn’t even considered that. She was simply curious how a human—a race generally considered weaker than even normal elves—had managed to dominate such a difficult system event against E-grade Chosen while still being F-grade.

To every other elf listening, both interpretations were heretical—punishable by a horrific death at the very least.

Yet there was someone else listening.

The sky above cracked like glass as a monstrous killing intent from an extremely powerful god descended. A female voice followed, hissing with venom.

“My little Casi is interested in a man?!?”

From the rift in the sky, a beautiful humanoid woman stepped out. She had long black hair, but what truly unsettled were her dark, insect-like eyes. This was one of the true pinnacle gods, and her origin was known only to the most powerful beings of the elven empire.

Nyssa—the first daughter of the Spider Queen—had abandoned her mother’s nature entirely and ventured out into the vast multiverse long ago. She was also, naturally, Casandra’s mother.

Solan and Nyssa had bonded during an extremely dangerous system event—one that still existed even for gods, though most no longer risked their lives in such trials. Once it became clear that Casandra was a high elf, they had decided it was best for her to grow up among her own kind, with Nyssa visiting in secret.

Casandra was the first child of both pinnacle gods—which made Nyssa’s sudden appearance a very unwise move.

Roguga exploded with power as he activated the arena’s defenses, his spear appearing in his hand. A protective barrier instantly formed around Rugard and Casandra, shielding them from the overwhelming aura.

“How dare you intrude like this? Don’t you have any respect for the young?” Roguga roared, glaring up at the descending god.

“Quiet, weakling,” Nyssa hissed, her gaze locked entirely on Casandra.

“Okay, that’s it. Come on, Solan—we’ll kill this stupid spider,” Roguga shouted in rage, not noticing the look of horror on Solan’s face.

“Darling, could you rein it in? There are mortals here,” Solan said to the woman descending from the sky.

“WHAT?!? DARLING?!?” Roguga let out a high-pitched scream, staring at the leader of the elves with eyes that looked ready to pop out of his skull.

<--

Solarion sat at his work table, checking the news of the multiverse. To be fair, there had been more messages in the last few weeks than in the past ten million years combined.

At first, it was countless gods requesting an audience—mostly to ask about the placement of his Chosen in the system event and to obtain a copy of the leaderboard. Solarion stood by his Chosen and knew that Eric felt bad about only placing seventh, which was why he declined anything that might reflect poorly on him.

Just as things were about to calm down, that stupid vampire Tenebrice spread the news to everyone.

For Solarion, it was only mildly annoying, especially since shortly after, news of Thalion’s death began circulating. That part was a bit unfortunate—Solarion would have liked to get to know that human better. Maybe he even had a light affinity, and Solarion could have blessed the mortal.

That was also something many gods kept asking him about. Someone placing first in a level seven system trial was exactly the kind of individual worthy of a divine blessing—if the paths of god and mortal aligned.

Eric, however, didn’t really know what Thalion was capable of, and Solarion understood that he didn’t want to pressure Thalion’s friends who had joined their faction.

For someone like Solarion, it wasn’t personal—it was simply valuable information. Something to exploit, or sell.

The next major development was the leader of the Eclipsari paying Solan and the other elves a visit. To this day, no one knew what they wanted there.

Then came another oddity—Tenebrice leaving his domain to assist Morgana in her fight against the Spider Queen. If the Spider Queen didn’t kill the witch soon, she might actually run into serious trouble. Even weakened, Tenebrice was still a terrifying existence, and Morgana was far from weak herself. The chances of the Spider Queen killing both of them weren’t particularly high, at least in Solarion’s estimation.

Then another message arrived—one that made Solarion raise an eyebrow.

The leader of the largest elven faction had a daughter with Nyssa, the first daughter of the Spider Queen—and now there was a civil war at his doorstep.

Maybe he should extend a helping hand to a fellow light god.

Solarion mused on the idea, not really considering helping the old arrogant elf—at least not seriously. Still, it could be interesting.

There was also something deeply unsettling about all of this.

Had Solan been involved in the Spider Queen’s plans to kill Morgana?

Solarion wasn’t entirely sure, but he vaguely remembered hearing long ago that the Spider Queen had once planned to kill her first daughter—which was why Nyssa had left.

In all his time, Solarion had rarely encountered so many question marks when it came to politics.

Maybe paying a visit and offering assistance wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

It would definitely be entertaining.

<--

Inside a small bubble drifting along a majestic river flowing between planets, three women stared into the distance.

As the illusion around them faded, it became clear that two of them were dead, their eyes hollow and empty. Only the one in the middle still lived.

Something moved beneath her skin, and a sinister smile slowly spread across her face as she watched the events unfolding in powerful empires far, far away.