In the Empire of Aethelian, the throne hall trembled as the Astral Omen rippled through the stars. Mana shivered in the air, banners of woven light swaying though no wind blew.

The Emperor himself stiffened on his throne, his fingers curling into the armrest, his gaze fixed on the trembling constellations above the skylit dome, their patterns convulsing in a rhythm he had only read of in forbidden histories.

One of his ministers fell prostrate before him, voice cracking. “Your Majesty, the Astral Omen has stirred once more.”

The Emperor could feel it, the chamber quaked as though the galaxy itself acknowledged the birth of something that should not exist. His golden crown seemed to dim as starlight flickered overhead.

“Your Majesty… this one is stronger, far stronger than the one recorded when the Demon Emperor first stepped into the void.”

The emperor’s jaw tightened, his regal calm unshaken though his eyes glinted with a shadow of unease.

“To surpass even that omen…” His voice was low, measured. “If this being walks against us… Then not even six empires united will survive the storm to come.”

…

Across the galaxy, the Omen’s shockwaves reached every corner. Every empire realized one thing, A shift had come and a new era had begun.

The Demon Emperor was no longer the only anomaly. A new power had stepped into the void, and the war that had lasted millennia would no longer hold its balance.

The frontlines boiled in response. Armies surged, legions pressed, battles erupted at scales unseen in centuries. Plans that had lingered on parchment for decades suddenly moved into motion.

All because one boy from Earth had entered the void.

…

Meanwhile, Adrian knew nothing of the Astral Omen. The Omen had not manifested on Earth. For him, the stars were still silent.

He floated across the void toward Aurelia and Sentinel, his body carrying no trace of the storm he had unleashed moments ago. The emptiness of space felt oddly natural now, as if the void itself recognized him.

He came to Aurelia and Sentinel, bowing with respect.

“Lord Sentinel. Lady Aurelia.”

His voice carried respect. To him, Aurelia was one of the Celestial Eleven, she deserved nothing less.

Sentinel inclined his head. Aurelia, however, froze. Words failed her.

The figure before her, a youth of Earth, yet carrying a presence like the Stellar Stage, felt utterly unreal. Her hands trembled as she tried to reconcile what she had witnessed.

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For a moment, she could only stare, her mind struggling to bridge the gap between memory and reality. This was supposed to be impossible.

Sentinel, too, was shaken, but his recovery came quicker. He had seen Adrian bend the impossible before. And he had no context of what “stellar stage” meant, only that Adrian was still Adrian, the boy he had watched rise.

He broke the silence. “Aurelia, this is Adrian Blackwood. The one who has already changed the course of Earth.”

…

Together, the three drifted back toward Aurelia’s ship. Its cloaked hull parted for them like liquid metal.

For the first time in his life, Adrian stepped into true galactic technology. The transition from void to atmosphere was seamless, artificial gravity taking hold without the slightest jolt.

Adrian’s eyes widened as he entered. The walls were reinforced with runes unlike any he had ever seen stretched in perfect curves.

Compared to the EUO’s towers, this was another universe entirely. Each surface seemed alive with purpose, responding to Aurelia’s presence with subtle shifts in luminosity.

They gathered in the command chamber. The silence pressed until Aurelia leaned forward, her eyes locked on Adrian. Her breathing had steadied, but her gaze remained intense.

She had read the reports, his Blackwood Ink, the runes, his supposed Echo affinity. Even if it felt impossible, at least there had been explanations. Things she could stretch to believe.

But this? The being who had stood in the void, power resonating with Stellar Stage? She had no frame for it.

“Adrian,” she said finally, her tone even, not as elder to a child but equal to equal. “How? How are you this powerful? Now, you feel like any SSS-rank I’ve seen. But in that form… you carried the pressure of a Stellar Stage.”

Adrian paused, considering. His path had been a storm of battles, the Source Stone, the seed, his liquefied mana. But more than any of that… it was the Volumes. Every comprehension, every concept, every truth hidden in their symbols.

“I don’t know what Stellar Stage is,” he said at last. “But the reason I’ve come this far… is because I fully comprehended the three Volumes of the Language of Mana.”

Aurelia shuddered. “What do you mean, comprehended? The fragments of the language, the symbols?”

Adrian shook his head. “Not just the language. I comprehended all the concepts within them.”

The chamber fell into stunned silence. Aurelia’s face went pale, her hands gripping the edge of the command console.

“That’s… impossible. In all of galactic history, no one has done this. The Volumes were never meant to be fully understood. Not concepts like space, life, time.”

Her voice rose with each word. “The Volumes themselves are the work of countless generations, thousands of contributors across millennia. Even the greatest inscribers only ever focused on a single concept. Most learn to recognize the symbols, learn the language, not to comprehend the concepts.”

“And you say… you understood them all?”

“Yes,” Adrian said simply.

Shock warred with dawning realization in her eyes. If one being had comprehended every planetary concept… then perhaps this power was not impossible. Perhaps it was inevitable.

Still, another doubt burned. “But how did you bloom your seed in the first place? Earth has no galactic concepts.”

Sentinel spoke then, “There was a place born when Earth awakened. At its core, a treasure. Like the ones we once used to bloom our seeds. Likely it fell from beyond. That treasure gave Adrian his seed.”

Understanding dawned on Aurelia’s face, and with it, relief. The pieces fit together.

“Do you understand what this means? For centuries, we eleven struggled, trying to reach Stellar Stage,” she said, her voice trembling with awe.

“And now, one from our home world is already near that stage. Adrian, with you… our planet may finally be safe.”

Adrian and Sentinel exchanged a glance. They had no idea what Stellar Stage truly meant. The terms felt foreign, distant from their understanding of power.

Adrian frowned, respectful but curious. “What is this Stellar Stage? What does it mean?”

Aurelia turned to both him and Sentinel, her expression firm. The weight of explanation settled on her shoulders as she prepared to unveil the truth of galactic power.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep