Chapter 491: Assassinate! I
In the radiant Star Seas, one Nar’Thyss made a choice.
And in another portion of the Star Seas, another Nar’Thyss, one so profound that he had assimilated the very Existential Authority of Fables...also made a choice!
Inside a grand underwater castle that existed within the Sea of Thalassara, crystalline walls reflected waves of light.
At its very center, four figures floated in waters that glowed with bioluminescent purpose, their gathering a council that would reshape the current conflict!
Achilles held a small court, though there was no throne, no formal arrangement. Rose sat beside him with the natural ease of someone who belonged there, her water form maintaining just enough solidity to convey presence.
Despite being the Primordial Genome Empress, a being whose very existence violated biological law...she presented herself with the quiet dignity of a good daughter-in-law beside Achilles...even though her potential exceeded Thalsian and Adras!
Adras and Thalsian completed their circle, three generations of Adrastia Emperor Kings united in purpose.
"What I observed changes a few things..."
Achilles began, his voice carrying weight that made the crystalline waters around them ripple.
"After Syl’thessara lef, I kept tabs on her. Believing themselves unobserved, another Nar’Thyss came to her. Their conversation revealed something critical...something thst changes things significantly as its seemd like the Constellation Nar’Thyss have initiated something they call...the Scourge Fable Protocol has been initiated."
"Scourge?" Thalsian’s massive frame tensed, his blue-gold hair moving in currents of agitation.
"Why the fuck does everything they do have to sounds ominous even without context."
...!
"It’s worse than ominous," Achilles continued, his expression grave. "The Scourge Fable Protocol is their ’nuclear’ option when hunting Nexus Deviation Points. They create an invasive narrative while destroying everything with a plaque thst wipes out all life, except that which is forced to evolve."
He paused, ensuring they grasped the magnitude.
"Imagine armies that feed and plague trillions themselves. Every civilization they destroy...all of it generates massive amounts of Existential Authority of Fables for them. The Nar’Thyss harvest this energy while simultaneously forcing any hidden deviation to reveal itself or be consumed."
"They’re going to turn our entire Star Sea into...a land filled with plagues and death?" Adras’s voice carried the kind of cold anger that preceded stellar destruction.
"Not just ours," Achilles corrected. "Every Star Sea under their influence will experience this simultaneously. They’re casting the widest net possible, ensuring their deviation...me, has nowhere to hide."
Thalsian’s expression darkened like storms gathering over primordial oceans!
"So we’re facing invasion by forces led by Tier 9 existences, while being hunted by beings who can rewrite reality itself. The odds seem... poor."
"They would be," Achilles agreed, "But I have a different plan."
He leaned forward, and the others instinctively did the same, drawn by the intensity in his purple-gold eyes.
"We...are going to assassinate one of the three Tier 9 Nar’Thyss who will lead the Scourge Fable Protocol."
BOOM!
A heavy set of words!
And Achilles ridiculously continued!
" But not here...that would immediately reveal this Star Sea as the location of their Nexus Deviation Point. Instead, we strike in another Star Sea entirely."
Rose’s water form rippled with interest. "You want to hunt the hunters in someone else’s territory?"
"Precisely. From the memories I’ve extracted from Nar’Thyss I’ve secretly influenced in the Butchering Grounds- those I’ve placed my narrative Spores into, I know of three nearby Star Seas that will also undergo the Protocol. Star Sea Gamma-7, where the crystalline titans once lived. Star Sea Beta-3, home to the void swimmers. Star Sea Delta-9, the graveyard of ancient civilizations."
He gestured, creating a three-dimensional map of light in the water between them.
"Each will have three Tier 9 Nar’Thyss commanders leading their Scourge forces. If we eliminate one in, say, Delta-9, it accomplishes multiple objectives. First, it weakens their overall offensive. Second, it sends a message that they’re not untouchable. Third, and most importantly, it draws their attention away from our Star Sea momentarily as at this moment...I cannot face those at the Level Zero Scale of Existence. "
HUUM!
"But won’t they investigate who could possibly kill a Tier 9 Nar’Thyss?" Adras asked, his strategic mind already working through implications.
"Of course," Achilles smiled, the expression sharp. "But they’ll investigate in Delta-9, not here. They’ll assume the deviation is there, waste resources searching empty space while we continue to grow stronger. By the time they realize their error, we may be ready for direct confrontation. If I can take one down, it lays the groundword for taking down multiple. Maybe."
Maybe.
Maybe!
"Are you confident in this?" Thalsian asked, his ancient eyes studying his grandson with mixture of pride and concern. "After all, they are Tier 9. Even weakened, even surprised, they represent power that has shaped reality for eons."
Achilles’s gaze flashed with powerful light, purple-gold fire that made the water around him steam despite the impossibility of it.
"I made significant gains from fighting Syl’thessara and analyzing the power structure of Tier 9 existence. In the day since, my constant assimilations have elevated me to middle Tier 7 on the Null Scale. All my Regulations...Quantum, Spatial Tension, Inevitable Entropy...have reached the Seventh Echelon. The Existential Authority of Fables has attained the Second Echelon."
He paused, letting the magnitude of that growth sink in.
"I have eighty percent confidence in successfully assassinating a Tier 9 Nar’Thyss caught off-guard in unfamiliar territory. Give me another day of assimilation and bloodline refinement, and that rises to one hundred percent. We take it step by step, calculated, methodical."
"And the legions that will attack here?" Rose asked, her mind already calculating many things.
"We play hide and seek," Achilles’s smile grew colder.
"We let them rampage, let them believe they’re succeeding in their provocation. The Infinite Radiance Sovereignty and the Void Dominion Empire...they can fare for themselves. Meanwhile, we observe, we learn their patterns, we identify weaknesses. And when the time is right...when they’ve grown complacent, when they believe this Star Sea holds nothing of interest, we erase them in one sweep."
HUUM!
"They expect desperate defense, heroic last stands, the usual narrative beats their Scourge generates. Instead, they’ll get surgical elimination when I hold Level Null Tier 9 power...or even if I attain Level Zero Tier 1 power! No drama, no extended battle, just sudden and complete cessation of their existence. It will be so fast, so total, that they won’t even have time to send warning to their superiors."
"..."
An immense silence settled.
A heavy silence!
Rose spoke thereafter, her voice carrying the quiet certainty of someone who had already run the calculations.
"The biological samples I’ve been analyzing from your Nar’Thyss genome...I can synthesize targeted toxins that would specifically affect their narrative structure. Not enough to kill a Tier 9 outright, but enough to weaken them for your assassination."
...!
Adras and Thalsian turned to their daughter in law with quiet shock as...what? She could make a genetic toxin that could poison a Tier 9 Null Scale existence?!
"What?" She said with innocent sweetness that fooled no one. "I’ve also been preparing weapons specifically designed to hurt beings that shouldn’t be hurtable...I have to do so for the sake of my Little Fatty..."
...!
Achilles reached over and took her hand, her water form solidifying just enough.
A terrifyingly plan had bloomed with many intricacies...but it would have Achilles exit his Star Seas entirely...and go hunting for multicolored butterflies that fucked around too much!