Achilles floated in the radiant depths of the Sea of Thalassara, eyes closed, consciousness turned inward with introspective focus.

Around him, the stellar waters pulsed with authority that responded to his mere presence, but his attention had withdrawn from external magnificence to examine the weavings of his own existence.

Within him, patterns of power swirled…regulations claimed through force, authorities assimilated through conquest, capabilities stolen from entities that had thought themselves untouchable.

The scope of what he'd accumulated was staggering by any objective measure.

But only one thing truly played the most critical role in making him what he was.

His capability to Assimilate.

Everything else…the power, the transcendence, the ability to rewrite rules…stemmed from that singular foundation.

His Lineage gift, inherited from generations of Adrastia Emperor Kings who had possessed the same fundamental talent.

The Lineage of Nar'Thyss contributed its own unique capabilities. The Existential Authority of Fables gave him another source of power, another tool in his arsenal that others lacked.

It was valuable, certainly. Useful in specific circumstances.

But at the end of the day, his capability to Assimilate was what made him, him.

Everything else was supplementary.

Achilles opened his eyes briefly, gaze sweeping across the other distant Adrastia Emperor Kings he'd pulled from their deaths.

The First through the Eighth, all of them powerful in their own right, all of them possessing the same fundamental gift of Assimilation that defined their bloodline.

Apart from his father and grandfather, the others didn't have the Nar'Thyss Lineage awakened.

They'd operated with Assimilation alone, without the additional advantage of Fables authority. And yet they'd still reached tremendous heights…Tier 7, Tier 8, even Tier 9 of the Null Scale.

Proof that the core gift was sufficient by itself.

But none of them had broken the shackles.

None of them had stepped into the Level Zero Scale of Existence despite possessing the same fundamental capability he wielded. They'd advanced far, accomplished great things, built legacies…

And they'd all hit ceilings that seemed absolute.

Ever since he'd proceeded to break those shackles, Achilles had stepped even further away from everyone else!

The distance between him and his ancestors, even his own father and grandfather…had expanded to the point where comparison became almost meaningless.

Only one stood beside him at equivalent height.

Rose.

He smiled as he thought about her.

His eyes rose to gaze at the wonders of existence surrounding him…the stellar waters extending into impossible distances, the way reality itself seemed to bend around his presence.

His capability to Assimilate was his foundation. But it wasn't entirely the reason why he was where he was today.

Eight generations of beings just like him had possessed the same gift. Eight iterations of Adrastia Emperor Kings had wielded Assimilation with varying degrees of skill and success.

Well, he was supposed to be the Ninth and Last, and the strongest among them.

Maybe that contributed to it. Maybe being the final iteration meant something fundamental about his potential that hadn't applied to earlier generations.

Or maybe he'd just gotten lucky in ways they hadn't.

Achilles closed his eyes once more, consciousness turning inward again to examine the full scope of what he'd accumulated.

He felt the echelons of everything he'd claimed…all his Assimilations.

He'd started calling them…Aspects of Existence.

The term felt appropriate, simplified categorization that broke complex acquisitions down into comprehensible components.

The Regulations he'd assimilated and combined…Space-Time, Destiny, Carnage, Inevitable Entropy, Spatial Tension, Quantum…those were Aspects of Existence.

Fundamental principles governing how reality operated, integrated into his being through force of will.

The Existential Authority of Fables was another Aspect. The Void was another. Each one represented a piece of the larger puzzle that comprised what existence was, what made reality function according to specific rules rather than dissolving into chaos.

The access he'd gained to observing chains that shackled lesser existences, the opportunity he'd seized to swallow the Aspect of Limitation itself...

All of it reinforced his perspective that everything could be categorized this way.

That reality was composed of distinct Aspects which could be identified, isolated, and ultimately claimed by someone with sufficient capability and audacity.

The more things he assimilated with greater variety, the more Aspects of Existence he brought into himself, the grander his own existence would become.

When he truly thought about it…when he followed the logic to its inevitable conclusion, wasn't the end goal to assimilate the entirety of…Existence itself?

BOOM!

His surroundings buzzedand trembled.

The thought alone seemed to carry weight!

Achilles looked around as the stellar waters rippled outward from his position, as if the Sea of Thalassara itself had reacted to the audacity of that ambition.

The idea seemed far too grand, too far-fetched to seriously entertain.

Assimilate all of Existence? The totality of everything that was?

It seemed laughable!

But he was already assimilating its Aspects.

Had already claimed pieces of the fundamental architecture comprising reality. And when he assimilated enough Aspects of Existence…when he'd integrated sufficient portions of it…

What would prevent him from eventually assimilating it in its entirety?

"…"

The question hung in his consciousness like a challenge he was issuing to himself, to existence, to whatever forces might be listening.

And just what power would he possess at that point? Would it match the Foldless Ones? Exceed the Citizens of the Civilization of Life they served?

"The Civilization of Life..." Achilles spoke aloud, "What will it take to join this supposed exclusive group of beings?"

A simple thought and possibility.

And as he pondered this…

Space fluctuated behind him.

The distortion announced a teleportation, and Achilles couldn't help but smile as a piercing voice rang out with enthusiasm that needed no filter.

"Father, we are relocating to a different place?!"

...!

Arya's presence blazed into existence beside him, her form radiating excitement.

She appeared at his side within moments, eyes wide with curiosity about whatever plans he'd been making.

Achilles reached out to stroke her hair with surprising gentleness, his smile widening as he nodded.

"Yes, The preparations are done. As soon as a soap opera finishes light-years from here..."

He paused deliberately, letting anticipation build before delivering the destination.

"We shall relocate into The Void."

...!

Arya's eyes widened further with excitement!

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