The wedding ceremony of Lord Vahn and First Princess Celestine was nothing short of a spectacle that defied mortal imagination. It was far more than a simple union of two people; it was a profound, calculated convergence of celestial forces, a deliberate and necessary binding of disparate realms into one indivisible authority.

Every moment of the long ceremony adhered meticulously to the most sacred, ancient traditions of the Astralis Empire, a powerful legal and spiritual process centuries in the making.

The setting itself was beyond grand: an immense arena of timeless, monolithic architecture, shining under the focused, steady brilliance of a carefully controlled artificial sun, as if the Empire's very essence had consciously bestowed its most powerful blessing upon the couple.

​Vahn stood at Celestine's side, his massive form perfectly poised and utterly still. His regal presence was unyielding, an absolute anchor amidst the swirling chaos of concentrated power and political pressure.

The ceremony was conducted in absolute accordance with traditional imperial law, a symbolic yet tangible gesture intended to unite two distinct worlds, the entrenched ancient authority and the necessary new power, into one covenant.

The air surrounding the ceremonial dais buzzed intensely with concentrated energy as the imperial rites played out in exquisite, painstaking detail. Ancient ceremonial chants, some in languages long since unused in daily life, filled the vast space, and ethereal, complex melodies resonated through the very structural foundations of the empire.

The Old Emperor, ever steadfast and composed, presided over the proceedings with a quiet, undeniable grace that lent tremendous, unquestionable legitimacy to the entire event.

​Celestine, radiant in her elaborate gown of white and silver law-infused threads, stood tall and unbowed beside Vahn. Her beauty, though intimately familiar to him, seemed magnified, almost supernaturally enhanced in the immediate presence of so much focused power and global attention.

As the custom-forged, living crown was placed upon Vahn's head, sealing his ultimate authority, a silent, profound understanding passed between them.

This moment transcended the mere political coronation of a new Emperor; it was the intense, alchemical forging of something far more profound and enduring than either a political alliance or a simple marriage.

​Yet, even as the sacred vows were exchanged and the binding words spoken by the Old Emperor with finality, Vahn's mind was not entirely present. He could not help but think, with a sharp, unexpected pang of guilt and fierce, deep love, of the six others: the wives he had been forced to leave behind in the distant, mortal realm.

Their faces, vivid and painfully dear, haunted him in the brief silence that followed each ritualistic pronouncement. There were no words, even within the vast lexicon of the Immortal Realm, to convey the gnawing uncertainty and powerful heartache he felt.

His deep connection to Seraphina and the others, which had felt absolute and unbreakable in the mortal realm, had been tragically severed by the sheer passage of dimensional time and distance. While their sudden, inexplicable appearance as the Galactic Sovereigns seemed to grant them a formal, untouchable place within the cosmic hierarchy of the Immortal Realm, it did absolutely nothing to ease the aching feeling of distance and profound separation from the shared life they treasured.

​The others: Lilith, Aria, Flama, Evelina, and Valeria. They were supposed to belong firmly to another world, the mortal one of Dalu. Their natural, intended places had always been on the verdant plains and under the pale skies of their home, not among the towering, reality-defying spires of this Immortal Realm.

So why, Vahn questioned internally, had they been drawn here? Why had they, too, become the very Sovereigns that ruled the surrounding star sectors, figures of unimaginable cosmic power? What cruel, overarching cosmic force had manipulated their fates, stripping them of their simple, shared life and granting them this incomprehensible, alien power?

​As Vahn and Celestine began their formal walk away from the dais and toward the opulent nuptial chamber, the overwhelming grandeur of the main wedding hall slowly fading behind them, his thoughts grew heavier, more intrusive and demanding of answers.

The flickering, precious memory of Seraphina's belly, swollen with their unborn child, brought a new, almost unbearable weight of paternal anxiety and fear to his heart. He had promised her, promised all of them, with every fiber of his being, that they would be reunited. Yet, in this strange, unpredictable new world, everything concerning their future was agonizingly uncertain.

Would they ever meet again in person, or would they remain cosmic figures bound only by memory and the whims of fate? Would the powerful, foundational bonds they had forged in the simplicity of the mortal realm stand strong and true here, where power redefined reality?

​"Do you remember when we first met, Celestine?" Vahn asked suddenly, the question feeling jarringly personal amidst the formal silence of their walk. His voice was steady, perfectly composed, yet laced with the deep weariness of an uncertain, heavy heart.

​Celestine, walking effortlessly and gracefully beside him, turned her gaze toward him. She offered a knowing, gentle smile, though it was undeniably filled with a touch of profound sadness and genuine understanding.

"I do," she said softly, her carefully gloved fingers brushing briefly against his arm, a subtle gesture of quiet support and reassurance.

"It feels as though it was so long ago, a distant, beautiful memory almost, but at the very same time, Vahn, it feels as though it was just yesterday that we spoke on the plaza."

​Vahn nodded slowly, his gaze lifting toward the countless artificial stars that shimmered above them. He knew intellectually that they were not real celestial bodies, but highly complex artificial lights placed in perfect, symbolic alignment to evoke the comforting memory of a genuine, untainted celestial sky.

His thoughts, nevertheless, returned inexorably to the six women: each one representing a different, vital chapter of his life, each one bound to him in a way that truly transcended mere mortal understanding or political contract.

​The memory of their faces and personalities was vivid, clear enough to touch and yearn for: Seraphina, so outwardly gentle yet possessing a fierce, unyielding core of loyalty and courage; Lilith, the fiery and bold leader; Aria, the Lightning Warrior; Flama, the passionate Alchemist, explosive soul whose raw, untamed energy felt capable of igniting entire worlds; Evelina, the cold, tactical mind, the strategic pillar behind their every complex move; and Valeria, ever the unbounded dreamer, whose hopes and vision were as vast and limitless as the universe itself.

​"I wonder," Vahn murmured, almost speaking only to himself, the words escaping in a breath, "whether they are truly gone forever, absorbed into the Void, or if they are waiting somewhere in this vastness. Somewhere hidden in the unexplored shadows and terrifying complexity of the Immortal Realm. Maybe they still remember me with the same clarity that I remember them. Maybe they, too, are constantly wondering where I am, where we are, and what happened to the life we were building. The gap between us feels... unbearably vast and agonizing, a distance I cannot cross with mere power."

​Celestine's beautiful eyes softened significantly as she listened to his unguarded moment of weakness. It wasn't the slightest hint of jealousy or anger that filled her gaze, for she understood the gravity of his past; instead, it was a profound, quiet understanding of his suffering and immense burden.

She had seen, both physically and politically, the way Vahn's heart carried the persistent, heavy weight of his entire past, of the worlds and lives he had been forced to leave behind in his ascent to power.

"You still think of them constantly," she said quietly, her voice warm yet edged with something sorrowful and sympathetic. "Your wives... I know, Vahn, that they meant everything to you, and that their memory still defines you."

​Vahn did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at her, his gaze intense, searching for assurance and connection in her eyes.

"They did. They do. They are my foundation, Celestine. But it's not just about them. It's not only the people. It's about everything else as well. The deep, visceral connection I felt with the entire mortal realm, the fundamental choices I made, the very simple life I lived and enjoyed… It all feels disconnected, unreal now that I am Emperor here. I don't know who I am supposed to be in this place anymore. Am I still the same man who walked the dirt streets of Dalu, a mere cultivator, or have I become something entirely different, something truly unrecognizable even to myself?"

​Celestine's expression softened even further, a gesture of sincere empathy and regal understanding. She placed a hand upon his arm, her touch gentle yet firm, an anchor against his internal storm and existential questioning.

"You are who you choose to be, Vahn. You are not defined or limited by the world you came from, nor strictly by the ones who are not here by your side right now. You are the man you are now: the one who won the trials and ascended. The one who killed the enemy with a thought. And you will always be the one I chose, the one I committed to stand beside and build a new era with, regardless of your past identity."

​Her words, simple yet profoundly heartfelt, resonated powerfully in the hollow, uncertain spaces of his heart, filling them with a warmth and stability he had not consciously realized he so desperately lacked. His past was still a vital, defining part of him, yes, but so was his immediate, demanding future as Emperor. And in this moment, walking beside Celestine, in this vast, strange, and powerful new realm, he felt a flicker of clear focus regarding the path ahead, even if the road was fraught with danger and mystery.

​They continued walking, the weight of their complex, unspoken bond clear and present between them, even as the world around them seemed to pulse and hum with untold, barely contained cosmic forces of power.

They finally entered the nuptial chamber, its opulent beauty a dazzling, perfect reflection of their powerful, official union. Vahn's thoughts inevitably returned to the six women he had left behind. But this time, there was no sharp bitterness or self-resentment, only a lingering, powerful longing for clarity and truth concerning their fate.

​"I'll tell you a story," he said, his voice taking on a wistful, narrative tone as they stood in the shimmering, silent center of the chamber, surrounded by the overwhelming opulence.

"A story of the mortal world, of Dalu. A place far removed from this grand, overpowering reality, yet in some ways, so fundamentally similar to what we face here in terms of love and loss."

​Celestine raised a delicate eyebrow, intrigued by the sudden shift in focus and the depth of his voice.

"What kind of story, my Emperor? A myth from your home world?"

​Vahn smiled softly, a genuine hint of nostalgic warmth in his gaze. "It's a story about my six wives. Each one, unique and powerful in her own way. Each one, representing a vital, different part of who I was, and who I am even now, here on the throne. But most of all, it's a story about the complex intersection of love and the impossible demands of duty, about free choice and the cruel, inescapable hand of destiny."

​Celestine's expression shifted instantly. For the briefest, most shocking moment, a flash of genuine, unadulterated horror crossed her elegant features, her eyes widening slightly in sudden, cold realization. She swallowed hard, audibly, as if struggling with a truly monumental, unspeakable truth that had just been forced upon her.

"Are you telling me... Vahn... that the six women you speak of, the ones you loved and married... they are..."

​Vahn met her gaze head-on, his eyes steady, unflinching in the face of her shock and growing dread. "Yes, Celestine. They resemble the Galactic Sovereigns of this realm, in form, name, and power, in a way that defies logic and explanation. But they were born in a completely different world, a different dimension. They were never meant to ascend here, never meant to be figures of cosmic power. They were supposed to stay... safely on Dalu, waiting for me to return."

​A long, thick, suffocating silence followed, the colossal weight of his words settling into the room like an inevitable, foreboding truth.

Celestine's gaze dropped swiftly to the polished floor, her fingers clenched tightly at her sides in a subtle expression of powerful, desperate restraint and internal turmoil. The implication of his words was too vast, too dangerous, and too metaphysically complex to immediately process.

​She did not speak immediately, though her mind whirled violently with utter confusion, deep concern for her own position, and mounting, terrifying dread.

What did this bizarre, terrifying parallel mean for them, as a newly crowned, bound couple? For her own carefully secured future? For the stability of the Empire that Vahn was now meant to rule? For the possibility of seven cosmic figures vying for the heart of the Emperor?

The air in the nuptial chamber grew thick and heavy with uncertainty, the echoing truths of a lost past fatefully mingling with the powerful, demanding reality of the present, and the fate of the entire new Astralis Empire hung, suspended and fragile, in the terrifying balance.

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