By the time I finally left the capital, the sun had already begun dipping toward the horizon.
The conversation with Arkas, Edgar, Lucien, and Damien had stretched far longer than any of us expected. What started as a simple reunion had turned into hours of catching up. They asked about the wars, the races I had encountered, the strange worlds beyond our galaxy, and the threats that might one day reach Vaythos.
In return, they told me about the changes that had taken place here and how the people of Surka and Peanu were slowly becoming part of the empire.
It had felt strangely normal.
For a brief moment, it almost felt like I had never left.
Eventually, though, I excused myself and returned to the sky.
The capital slowly shrank behind me as I rose above the towering cliff that bordered the city. The massive forest plateau spread out ahead once again, quiet and untouched by the activity below.
Vivi’s garden.
I descended gently toward the lake where the enormous ancient tree stood guard over the clearing.
The moment I arrived, I already knew where she was.
The small pool of liquid essence I had created earlier was still glowing softly near the base of the tree.
And inside it—
Vivi was floating lazily on her back like a tiny bird-shaped flame drifting across violet water. Only her head and wings were visible above the surface as she soaked happily in the essence.
"You look comfortable," I said.
Her eyes opened instantly.
"Oh!"
She flipped upright in the pool and flapped her wings excitedly, sending small ripples of glowing essence across the surface.
"You came back!"
"I told you I would."
She hopped out of the pool, hovering in the air while droplets of violet essence slid off her feathers like liquid light.
"So," she said eagerly, "did you finish all your human talking?"
"Mostly."
She tilted her head.
"You humans talk a lot."
"That’s true."
I walked closer to the pool and looked at her.
"Well," I said, "are you ready to test your devouring ability?"
Her eyes lit up immediately.
"Yes!"
She spun in the air excitedly.
"Where are we going?"
"To Peanu."
She paused.
"The colony world?"
"Yes."
I folded my arms.
"There should be a portal connecting Vaythos to Peanu now, right?"
She nodded quickly.
"Yes. The humans use it for travel and trade."
"Good."
I pointed toward the distant capital.
"Can you hijack it?"
Her chest puffed up proudly.
"Of course I can."
Then she added happily,
"I am the planet."
I chuckled.
"Then take us there."
Vivi’s wings ignited with bright violet essence.
"Alright!"
A small vortex of spatial energy formed around her as she spread her wings wider.
"Hold still."
The next moment the space around us twisted. The garden vanished.
And in an instant—
Both of us disappeared from Vaythos, traveling through the hijacked portal toward Peanu.
The portal deposited us inside the main transit hub of Peanu.
The structure was enormous, built from reinforced metal and surrounded by layers of security formations. Soldiers moved constantly through the chamber, guarding the active portal ring that connected this world to Vaythos.
The moment we appeared, everything froze.
Then chaos erupted.
"Unknown arrival!"
Weapons snapped upward in a single motion as dozens of soldiers aimed directly at us.
"Do not move!"
I felt weapons locked onto my chest while defensive formations began activating along the walls. Vivi tilted her head slightly from where she perched on my shoulder.
"They look nervous."
I raised one hand. A faint ripple of essence spread outward. Every soldier in the chamber collapsed at the same time. The weapons clattered harmlessly to the floor as their bodies dropped.
Vivi blinked.
"That was fast."
"Let’s move," I smiled.
Before anyone else could arrive, space folded around us. The hub vanished. In the next instant we appeared inside the pocket space where the world core of Peanu was stored.
The place was silent.
At the center of the vast chamber floated the world core itself, an enormous sphere of condensed violet essence rotating slowly in the air. Streams of energy spiraled around it like miniature galaxies, illuminating the entire space.
Vivi lifted from my shoulder and drifted closer. Her glowing eyes widened slightly.
"Wow."
She circled the floating sphere slowly.
"This core belongs to you, doesn’t it?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
She turned toward me with clear excitement.
"Then the devouring will be even easier."
Before I could say anything else, she rotated back toward the world core. Her small body hovered directly in front of it. Then something strange happened. Her head suddenly began to expand. Not her entire body, just her head.
It grew larger and larger until her beak alone was nearly the size of the entire core.
Vivi opened her mouth.
And in a single bite—
She swallowed the entire world core. For a moment the chamber went completely silent. Then the transformation began. Far above us, across the entire planet of Peanu, the sky darkened as a thick violet haze spread across the atmosphere like a massive wave.
The energy of the world began shifting. Inside the pocket space I felt something change within myself as well.
My consciousness stretched outward. It was subtle at first. Then stronger.
I could feel Vaythos.
I could feel Peanu.
Both worlds simultaneously. The connection between them expanded rapidly, linking their essence flows together like two rivers merging into one. Vivi floated in the air at the center of the chamber, her body glowing brighter and brighter.
Her size began increasing.
The tiny phoenix that once fit in my palm expanded slowly until she was roughly the size of a pigeon. Her wings grew wider, her feathers longer, and the violet flames surrounding her body burned more intensely.
But that wasn’t the only change.
Inside my body—
The Dawn Core suddenly trembled. The floating islands within it shifted as the entire structure began expanding. Energy flooded through my essence channels. The core’s overall size increased dramatically.
Nearly twenty percent larger in a matter of seconds. The surge of power made the surrounding essence react violently.
Then the system notifications began.
One after another.
Their familiar chimes echoed through my mind as the transformation completed.
Then something far larger began to change.
The violet haze spreading across Peanu thickened until the entire sky glowed faintly like a second atmosphere of essence. Rivers of energy began flowing across the planet’s surface, moving through mountains, forests, and oceans like invisible currents awakening beneath the land.
For a brief moment the entire world seemed to pause. Then the transformation accelerated.
The essence density across Peanu began rising rapidly. The soil itself shimmered faintly as dormant minerals awakened deep underground. Forests responded almost immediately—trees stretching higher, leaves glowing faintly as life energy surged through their roots.
And far away, on Vaythos—
The planetary shields flared with bright violet light. A wave of essence passed across the entire planet like a silent tide, brushing over mountains and oceans before settling again.
The connection between the two worlds stabilized.
Inside the pocket space, Vivi hovered quietly in the air, her wings moving slowly as the new power settled into her body. The violet flames around her feathers burned brighter than before.
And within my own body, the newly expanded Dawn Core continued to pulse with unfamiliar strength as the system prepared to reveal the results of the transformation.