I remained silent and listened.
"Our universe wasn’t divided into worlds the way the Prime Universe is today. Instead it contained seven great realms, each existing within the same cosmic structure. Those realms were enormous beyond imagination. Entire civilizations rose and fell within them. Kingdoms became empires. Empires shattered into fragments. Families fought families. Bloodlines fought bloodlines. Every generation inherited old grudges and created new ones."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"In many ways, we weren’t very different from the people you know today."
She leaned back slightly.
"Each realm had a ruler. A lord. The strongest being within that realm. They stood at the peak of the Demi-God stage and possessed power capable of reshaping the entire cosmos."
Her fingers lightly tapped the wooden armrest.
"Back then there were no Eternals. We were all simply human."
I blinked.
The statement felt strange. The Eternals had become such a constant presence throughout my journey that imagining a time before them felt almost impossible.
The old woman noticed.
"Surprised?"
"Yes."
"You shouldn’t be."
She chuckled softly.
"The Eternals like pretending they have always existed."
The smile disappeared.
"The truth is considerably less flattering."
For several moments she remained silent before continuing.
"Unfortunately, power creates ambition. And ambition creates conflict."
Her gaze hardened slightly.
"The seven lords stood at the peak of the Demi-God stage. There was nothing left for them to conquer within their own realms. Nothing left for them to prove. Nothing left for them to achieve."
She shook her head.
"And that wasn’t enough."
I could already see where the story was heading.
"They wanted to become Gods."
The old woman nodded.
"Exactly."
The word carried a strange weight.
"Godhood."
She looked toward the distant sky.
"The ultimate goal. The final destination. The Throne."
"The Throne?"
She smiled.
"That was the name they gave it."
Her voice grew quieter.
"No one knew exactly what it was. No one knew where it existed. Some believed it was a position. Some believed it was a source of power. Others believed it was a cosmic authority that governed reality itself."
She shrugged.
"What mattered was that every lord believed reaching the Throne would allow them to ascend beyond the Demi-God stage."
The old woman laughed softly.
"And once seven ambitious rulers discover a path to infinite power, common sense usually leaves the conversation."
"The wars intensified."
Her tone became serious once more.
"The seven realms gradually divided into factions. Every major family chose a side. Every kingdom pledged allegiance to one lord or another. Alliances formed. Alliances broke. Entire civilizations became pieces on a board controlled by beings powerful enough to destroy worlds."
Her eyes drifted toward me.
"And among those countless families was ours."
"The Ironharts."
She nodded.
"Back then we were insignificant. We weren’t rulers. We weren’t famous or powerful. Most of our family barely reached the Transcendent stage."
A small smile appeared.
"We were survivors. Hard-working, stubborn people."
The smile widened slightly.
"Unfortunately for everyone around us, Ironharts have always been stubborn."
"Then one day everything changed."
The old woman’s gaze became distant.
"The first Ironhart Saint was born."
Even though the man had lived countless generations before either of us, his existence alone seemed to carry significance.
"He was talented."
She paused.
"Exceptionally talented. And far more ambitious than the rest of the family."
I could already imagine where this was going.
"While others wanted to survive, he wanted more. While others feared the wars, he saw opportunity."
The old woman shook her head.
"The family tried stopping him."
That surprised me.
"They failed."
Her smile returned.
"Spectacularly."
The image alone was amusing.
"He entered the conflicts anyway. Joined one of the factions. Earned military command. Won battles. Gathered resources."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"And then he kept winning."
The old woman tapped the armrest again.
"One Saint became two. Two became five. Five became ten."
The growth sounded absurd.
"The family expanded rapidly. Influence increased. Wealth increased. Strength increased."
She laughed softly.
"Before anyone realized what was happening, the insignificant Ironharts had become a recognized bloodline."
The pride in her voice was subtle. But it was there.
"The wars continued escalating. Unfortunately, the stronger our universe became, the more dangerous the conflict became."
She sighed.
"The seven lords eventually realized something. The answer wasn’t inside our universe."
That caught my attention.
"They believed the path to Godhood existed elsewhere."
The old woman nodded.
"And so they began looking beyond their own reality. At first it was exploration."
Then she laughed bitterly.
"It never stays exploration. It became invasion. The seven realms began expanding into neighboring universes. New worlds were discovered. New civilizations encountered."
She paused.
"Some became allies. Most were exterminated"
I could already imagine the scale of destruction.
"The search for Godhood consumed everything."
The old woman folded her hands together.
"Thousands of methods were attempted. Ancient relics. Cosmic artifacts. Blood sacrifices. Dimensional experiments. Forbidden techniques."
Her voice remained calm.
"Some methods were brilliant."
A pause.
"Many were horrific. And eventually one of the lords succeeded. At least, he believed he had."
Her expression became unreadable.
"His name was Lord Casteil. He discovered something."
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"A path. A real path."
She looked directly at me.
"The first genuine breakthrough toward Godhood. But the other lords would never allow him to keep it. He tried hiding it. It didn’t work."
Her gaze drifted toward the distant city outside.
"The secret spread."
The wars intensified once again.
Alliances shattered overnight. Armies mobilized. Entire realms moved against one another. And eventually Lord Casteil found himself cornered.
The old woman remained silent for several moments before continuing.
"He was losing. The combined pressure of the other lords became too much. His territory was collapsing. His forces were being destroyed. His enemies were closing in from every direction."
Her eyes narrowed.
"The end was approaching. And that was when two young men arrived. One was his adopted son. The other was his biological son."
For the first time since beginning the story, genuine amusement appeared in her eyes.
"Those two brothers would eventually change the fate of every universe connected to ours."
I already knew the names before she spoke them.
The old woman looked directly at me.
"Amun Prime."
The first name left her mouth.
Then came the second.
" And Theras Prime."