Noah stood on the grand balcony of his estate, his hands resting lightly on the cold stone railing.

Noah looked up at the shimmering golden veil that protected Aetherion.

With a casual wave of his hand, he did something that made his advisors gasp.

He didn't just open a gate; he dissolved the barrier entirely.

The sky, once shielded by layers of ancient inscriptions, was now wide open to the cold vacuum of the cosmos.

"Your Majesty?" William whispered, his voice vibrating with his newfound power. "The defense array is down. Should we not maintain a checkpoint?"

"There is no need," Noah said, his voice calm.

"I noticed that only the vanguards have arrived from the superior races. They've sent their princes, their explorers, and their minor lords. They aren't taking us seriously yet. They view this as a field trip to a backwater province."

He turned his gaze back to the stars, where the massive silhouettes of dragon-ships and spirit-clouds were growing larger.

"If I keep the barrier up, I have to keep opening it for every minor diplomat who thinks he's a god. Let them in. Let them see everything."

"Once they encounter you twelve, their perspective of this world will be shattered. Only then will the true elites, the ones worth my time, show their faces."

As the barrier vanished, the floodgates opened.

It wasn't just the Great Races that descended upon Aetherion.

From every corner of the known sectors, fleets began to clog the orbit of the planet.

There were bio-ships grown from the husks of giant space whales, metallic cubes belonging to the Technarchy, and shimmering silver needles from the Elven star-realms.

They came like vultures to a dying beast.

Word had spread across the galaxies that a human "Primordial Empire" was challenging the natural order.

Most were not here to participate.

They were here to watch the slaughter.

They wanted to see the moment the Dragon Race and the Spirit Race erased the "Human Upstart" from the maps of history.

The capital city of Aetherion, usually a place of orderly beauty, was suddenly cast in shadow as thousands of vessels entered the atmosphere.

Noah watched the spectacle with a detached interest.

They were guests at a banquet he had prepared, though he hadn't yet decided if they were the diners or the meal.

A light footfall sounded on the stone tiles.

Noah didn't need to turn to know who it was.

Liara, the Phoenix Queen, walked up to the railing, her silken robes fluttering in the wind.

She looked different today.

The playful girl who had been learning to cook from Elena was gone.

In her place stood a sovereign whose very presence commanded the elements.

"Are you ready to face them?" she asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

"The Dragons aren't known for their diplomacy, and the Spirits... well, they find the very concept of a physical body offensive. You've invited a lot of ego onto one planet, Noah."

Noah chuckled, turning to look at her.

"You know, for a sovereign of a superior race, you are a remarkably chill person, Liara. I have to remind myself occasionally that you are a potential enemy of mine."

"If the Phoenix Empire decides I'm a threat, you'll be the one leading the charge against me."

Liara's face turned serious.

The light in the garden seemed to dim as her internal fire flared.

A faint, golden radiance began to emanate from her skin, and her eyes turned into pools of molten sun.

"Not necessarily," she said, her voice dropping an octave.

"I am not a person who cares to rule the entire universe. It is a headache I do not need."

"If you prove yourself strong enough, if your vision for the future is actually better than the chaos we have now, I have no qualms about my people becoming a subordinate race under your banner."

She stepped closer, her gaze locking onto his.

"But remember this, Noah Aldric, if you dare to harm a single person of my race without absolute need, if you become a tyrant who enjoys the suffering of the 'lesser' beings, I will fight you to my very last breath."

"I swear this on the purity of my bloodline."

Noah looked at her, and for a moment, the "Ruler of All" forgot to breathe.

In the afternoon light, with her hair glowing like a halo and her face set in such fierce, noble determination, she was breathtaking.

He found himself falling into a brief trance, mesmerized by the sheer intensity of her spirit.

He had seen thousands of beautiful women across the planes, but none possessed this specific blend of lethal power and genuine heart.

Liara noticed his staring.

The tension broke as she let out a soft, teasing laugh.

She leaned in slightly, a mischievous glint returning to her eyes.

"Excuse me, Mister Ruler," she whispered.

"Looking at an unmarried maiden with such an intense gaze is quite rude, you know. Is the Great Noah finally realizing I'm more than just a kitchen apprentice?"

Noah snapped out of it, his ears turning a faint shade of red.

He cleared his throat and looked away, his heart thumping against his ribs in a way that annoyed him.

He was a man who had comprehended 2,000 Laws of the universe, yet he was being made to feel shy by a single comment.

It was frustratingly mundane.

"My apologies," he muttered, regaining his composure.

"The light caught your... anyway, I should head to the palace. The guests are beginning to land in the main plaza, and the previous emperor looks like he's about to have a heart attack trying to greet them all."

"Oh! Can I come with you?" Liara asked, tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

Noah paused.

"Are you sure? If you walk into the reception hall at my side, the other races will assume the Phoenix Empire has already formed an alliance with Aetherion."

"You'll be making enemies of the Dragons and Spirits before the first match even begins."

Liara's eyes turned cold as she looked up at the massive golden dragon-ships circling above.

"Let them think what they want. It's not like we are friends with them anyway."

"Those bastards have always looked down on my empire, mostly because they think a woman shouldn't sit on the throne of the Great Fire."

"I'd love to see the looks on their faces when I walk in with you."

Noah nodded, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Then let's go. It would be a shame to keep them waiting."

High above the clouds, within the flagship of the Dragon Race, a vessel carved from the bones of a moon-sized serpent, Prince Ignis of the Gold Dragon Clan paced the bridge.

He was a towering figure with scales shimmering along his jawline and eyes like burning coals.

"Your Highness," one of his generals growled, pointing at the planetary scans.

"The humans have lowered their shields. It's an insult. They aren't even trying to defend themselves. They are practically begging us to step on them."

The general gestured toward a control console.

"We have the Rex-987 Galaxy Destroyer Cannon primed. I say we don't even land."

"We just fire a warning shot, or better yet, we take out the capital city right now."

"Let the 'Primordial Emperor' rule over a pile of ash."

Ignis grinned, his sharp teeth glistening.

"Hmm! Not a bad idea."

"These monkeys need to learn their place before the tournament even starts."

"Let's use the planet-destruction cannon to have some fun first."

"Let's make them angry. I want to see them scream before I personally rip their king's head off."

"Hell yeah!" the subordinates shouted, their draconic blood boiling with the prospect of chaos.

Dragons were creatures of pride and destruction.

The idea of a fair fight was secondary to the joy of overwhelming power.

The massive weapon beneath the ship began to hum.

Dark energy gathered at the tip of the cannon, swirling into a sphere of pure annihilation.

The targeting systems locked onto the Sorus Palace.

"Fire," Ignis commanded.

Suddenly, the bridge of the dragon-ship turned bright red.

Screaming sirens blared from every speaker, and the holographic displays began to flicker and glitch.

"WARNING! WARNING!" the ship's AI shrieked.

"APOCALYPSE-LEVEL UNIVERSAL ANNIHILATION CANNON DETECTED. WE ARE BEING TARGETED BY A WEAPON OF UNKNOWN SCALE."

The Prince's grin vanished.

"What? Where is it? Evade! Shields to maximum!"

"EVASION IMPOSSIBLE. THE TARGETING LOCK IS ABSOLUTE."

"THE WEAPON IS CAPABLE OF ERASING THE LOCAL SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM."

"ESTIMATED SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 0.00%."

Ignis's face turned deathly pale.

He looked at the main viewscreen.

Directly in front of them, a small, inconspicuous satellite, one of many Noah had placed during the twenty-five days, had opened up like a mechanical flower.

A thin, pulsing line of violet light was pointed directly at the bridge of his ship.

It didn't look large, but the energy readings coming off it were so high they were breaking the ship's sensors.

Ignis spun around and delivered a thunderous slap to the subordinate who had suggested the attack, sending the dragon-man flying across the bridge.

"Bastard!" Ignis screamed, his voice cracking with terror.

"How dare you act so recklessly!"

"Power down the cannon! Immediately!"

He scrambled to the communications array, forcing an awkward, trembling smile onto his face as he opened a wide-broadcast channel.

"Aetherion Control! This is Prince Ignis!"

"We... we were just calibrating our sensors!"

"It was a playful gesture! Nothing serious! We come in peace!"

The bridge fell silent as they waited for a response.

Then, a playful, feminine voice echoed through the ship's speakers, bypassing all their encryption and firewalls.

It was Fiona.

"Oh?" Fiona's voice was light and airy, filled with mock disappointment.

"Why didn't you say that earlier?"

"We were just about to see if your ship could handle a localized big bang. What a bummer!"

The violet light on the satellite dimmed, but the lock remained.

Ignis collapsed into his command chair, his back drenched in cold sweat.

He looked at his hands.

They were shaking.

Down on the planet, Noah and Liara stepped into the grand reception hall.

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