1 Endless Night

The silence of space was eerie. Other than the occasional sparks of electricity from the destroyed navigation panels, and the distant sound of pressure being released into space, there was no noise to be heard. The dead ship floated silently through the cold darkness. Only the shimmering lights in the distant stars provided a pretty backdrop when one looked out at them through a viewport. A sudden flash of light revealed the silhouette of someone standing outside. The figure appeared for only an instant before disappearing into the dark once again.

Suddenly there were several flashes of light!

*Clank*

*Clank*

*Crash!*

*Qiu~*

*Crash!*

*Shu*

* Shu*

Dual swords were seen clashing against innumerable attacks and weapons. One sword seemed able to reflect the power of attacks back at their owner, while the other sword kept shattering any attack with absolute ferocity.

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B

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A massive impact instantly tore another huge hole into the walls of the starship.

Stepping through the hole with a calm and collected demeanor, a handsome man with dark skin and a muscular build surveyed his surroundings. Five warriors lay broken and bruised on the ground, trying to stifle their cries. The room was filled with an otherworldly design, illuminated by colorful lights emanating from circles beneath the warriors' feet. Despite their desperate attempts to escape with their lives, their faces were contorted in anger and fear, evidence of the brutal beating they had just endured.

They wore elite equipment of varying quality, but all of their armor was dented or tattered and disheveled. Their weapons were drawn as they drew more glowing light circles to set up some kind of formation.

The muscular man seemed to tower three feet over all others like a hunky brown-skinned demi-god. Two majestic horns of pure platinum and quartz extended from his head like the horn of some unearthly deity, radiating an ethereal light in the dimness of the surrounding darkness. Etched onto his brow was a shimmering eye of power that seemed to pierce right into one's soul and incite fear with just its presence.

A menacing dragon emerged from his lower back like a tail, spraying sparks of platinum and crimson. Its body had sharp golden spines along its back and scales that shone with a scarlet-golden hue as though alive by some divine energy. It slithered through the air as if it could think for itself, its draconic eyes releasing a menacing glint.

As the man entered the room, his eyes were drawn to him. He was no supermodel or leading star on a popular television show. No, this figure was much more powerful and feared by the five hegemonic figures in the room. His presence alone sent shivers down their spines, for he was the one character in the celestialverse that they had always dreaded encountering.

Shreya Endless.

Savage azure winds from outer space were barreling into the five armored elites in formation, threatening to shred them to pieces, but they did not seem to affect Shreya at all.

"It's useless, disgraced Eternal Endless," shouted a blonde-haired man at the head of the formation frantically. His eyes bulged, and his expression was crazed like all of his companions. "No matter what you do, no matter how mightily you struggle, you will still die today! One Eternal cannot defeat five True Pharaohs!"

The outer space twinkled with a thousand shards of azure light, crashing and clashing against the five armored elites in formation. But they could not move an inch despite the howling wind assaulting them. They could only watch with trepidation as Shreya stood unfazed.

"You have no chance, Eternal Endless!" roared the blonde-haired man at the head of the formation, his veins popping out from under his skin like an endless river. "No matter how hard you might fight, nothing can save you now! Today, five immortals will overthrow one god!"

"You are mistaken, Sir Lucius Vanity of Snowfall Keep. Today will indeed be the day I die," replied Shreya in a thunderous voice that shook all present to their core. A platinum trident appeared in his grasp, glimmered with divine wrath pointed toward Lucius and his cohorts. "But so shall you and your cohort follow me into purgatory."

Lucius and his followers were stunned at what their adversary had spoken.

Yet before any of them could respond, he opened his mouth again - making a promise in a voice that commanded reverence: "This time, I am victorious. But on our next fated encounter, I will lay with Raina – yes, I'm referring to Rasha's daughter – while you watch helplessly from beyond this world. Do know, however, that I take pride in being both honorable and powerful. This much I swear on your father's name. You won't even be born in this world again. Did you know I once knew your real father? Oblivion. This is my promise to you."

Silence.


Confusion and utter silence.


How could this 'fated day arrive again?'

What 'never born in this world,' what would that suggest?

What nonsense was this madman even speaking? What did those words even mean? Suddenly, the man named Lucius seemed to remember something critical. A rumor that they had never taken to heart. After all, this rumor was too outrageous, too ridiculous. No one had mastered such an esoteric power in the long history of the Twilight Boundary. But for some reason, when he saw the resolute look in Shreya's eyes, Lucius could no longer take that rumor as heresy.

The implications were far too disastrous.

Fury boiled from within Lucius' veins like molten lava, dousing his skin with a flush of raging red. His chest heaved, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white with rage. Grinding his teeth and narrowing his eyes, the mere mention of his beloved wife and daughter caused him to flare up into a frenzy of murderous intent. Especially the way this infuriating bastard kept insinuating that Reina belonged to Rasha but somehow not to himself.

Should he believe Rasha would betray him? Or rather, had already betrayed him completely before? Reina had the royal bloodline. Who could be her...

Lucius suddenly remembered something this man had said.

'Did you know I once knew your real father?'

'...real father?'

'...real...'

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!" he roared as the formation lights glowed like miniature stars around them, ready to be unleashed with an inferno of hellish power.

In a desperate attempt to stop Lucius from using the formation, one of his companions, a white-haired old man, shouted, "What is this drivel? Could it be all of this is truly just a personal grudge? Did you not say this man was a threat to the entire star boundary? Do you dare fool this ancient master?"

His two other companions tried to talk some sense into Lucius, but it was useless. Ready to sacrifice everyone's lives if need be, Lucius was determined to use every ounce of strength they could muster to obliterate his enemy.

Just then, the beautiful woman of the group stepped in and grabbed her husband's arm. Her icy eyes penetrated Lucius' as she lightly whispered in his ear, "Don't do it, my love. Don't let anger consume you."

Calm returned to Lucius' expression as he exhaled heavily.

"Damn, I do love the way you walk, Rasha..." said the dashing and heroic object of Lucius' abhorrent disgust.

Even worse, Rasha blushed uncontrollably upon hearing his words. She paled immediately afterward, lamenting her subconscious for being so infatuated with this toned and handsome menace!

Lucius was dumbstruck before his face twisted into a sneer of pure rage. Hearing this worm constantly speak of his beloved pushed Lucius over the edge. His hands clenched, and a roar emitted from his throat, shaking the air with an intimidating power that seemed to push against all five men in the formation.

"DIE!" The formation lights glowed fiercely and threatened to explode at any moment. But just then, a white-haired old man, frail but full of life, stymied Lucius once more before he could go too far.

"Brother Lucius, stop!" He uttered through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowing at the infuriated lunatic before him, "Why listen to what this fool is saying? Is your revenge worth more than our lives? Are you going to make us pay for your recklessness?"

The two other men shouted out their agreement in unison, cautioning Lucius not to act so hastily lest he drain them dry. But it did not seem to faze him—he was determined to slaughter this man here and now! That is until the soft hand grabbed his own and tightened a bit: Rasha Vanity, his devoted wife. She stared deep into his eyes with love and admiration, diverting his attention from the task.

Lucius gaped at his wife, the emotions filling his chest a jumbled mess. His beloved possessed an alluring beauty that could cause any man to freeze in place, her body curves and lithe figure beyond comparison. The sound of her delicate voice seemed to possess the power to entrance him, though it had never managed to awe him like this before. Despite his inner fury attempting to dissipate, he still felt waves of inexplicable rage coursing through him as she spoke.

"Lucius, stop! I told you already—I only needed his raging vital dawn essence. You knew the plan. You agreed. He was also able to use my neonic essence to practice, so it was just a mutual benefit. I will never embrace him again…it's okay, it's over. We did it not for love, and only for strength. He doesn't mean anything to me—he's nothing more than a transformation furnace. But do you believe me? Do you feel confident enough to trust what I say?"

Shreya sneered. Only for strength? Dozens of times a week was merely for strength? She should already be the Supreme Sovereign if that were the case...

Lucius struggled to contain and control his emotions, his eyes glaring at the woman he loved and feared in equal measure. Her beauty was undeniable, her curves and body a marvel that could stop any man's heart. When she spoke, he felt as though her voice possessed some mystical power over him. He wanted nothing more than to trust her yet something inside him refused to let go of the questions in his mind. He had seen the way she looked at the other man, the dangerous fire present in their exchanges - not one of love, but surely something else.

Something more feral. Wild. Lustful.

As much as he wished it otherwise, he could not help but feel as though his wife's loyalty was now in question.

Lucius stared blankly at his wife, a mesh of complicated feelings swimming in his soul. The red-haired woman in front of him was truly a world-stopping beauty. He allowed himself to get lost in her mesmerizing voice. He felt the irrational waves of fury slowly subsiding, allowing him to reconsider his current actions at last.

But how could it be so easy for this Vanity Family master?

Right as Lucius regained his calm, Shreya's mocking voice seared through the air like a fiery arrow.

"The you of right now will never embrace me again. How could you? Are you pretending it's because you have chosen this path yourself? It's too vile to even look at you, Rasha," Shreya hissed, his words laced with pure poison. "I will never forgive you. You won't ever atone for what happened to Raina. You sent that organization, the leader told me before I burned him to ash. You wretched crone, how can you be jealous of your own flesh and blood?"

"Me? You're faulting ME? You dirty lascivious scoundrel, how could you sink so low and touch my daughter! Am I not enough for you? Do you not enjoy my..." screamed Rasha in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

Luckily, she caught her self before she continued. Her next words would have damned them all. Her beautiful face contorted into something demonic and unholy for a second before returning back to normal. This handsome jerk had really struck a nerve, how dare he! Did he not know how she felt about him? But he still did that to Raina...Raina even dared to curse her over him.

How could she forgive them? They wanted to fly into the twilight together?

Fat chance!

"You miscreant, you'll never experience this again!" she screeched in disgust, barely masking the intense resentment in her voice.

It was ironically the first time Lucius had heard his wife sound like a wrathful lover.

Shreya's voice was laced with a sinister calm as he spoke, "Would I even touch you? Of course I would - the way you begged for me last night was like a drug. You're not worthy of a god, not even one as weak as Lucius; you should be grateful that I allowed you to spend time with me just so I could spite him. Your soul is nothing but an abyssal devil and your powers are nothing more than feeble dark ryms. That won't stop me from using them though."

Shreya's voice was crisp and cold, each word dripping with poison.

"You are nothing but a filthy abyssal devil," he spat contemptuously. "Your neonic essence is void; you have dark-ink ryms, so their serene nature is of some use to me."

The room seemed to darken as Shreya spoke, his words cutting through the air like a blade. Rasha's face became deathly pale and her mind raced. What had this man just called her…? He somehow knew that she was from the abyss? How could he possibly know she was from the abyss?! She knew her secret must never come out! In that moment all Rasha wanted was for all present to experience violence and death! Her desperation mixed with hatred created a wild emotion that no one present had ever seen before.

But how?

A bluff? Impossible!

No!!

"This secret must never come out!" she thought desperately.

Lucius' expression darkened menacingly, and it seemed that the entire atmosphere of the room hung in stunned silence as Shreya finished with finality. Rage bubbled up inside of Rasha like molten lava, consuming her until all that remained was an intense desire for revenge.

"They must all die," she vowed silently. "Everyone present must die!"

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AN: HELLO again, everyone. Welcome to the new series Eternal Luck. The first ten chapters are a mass release for my dear readers. A bit of a prologue of sorts. If you're impatient to meet our MC, be at ease! In a way, you already have. This first volume is called Eternal Luck and the Pharaoh's Child. Be sure to support the series with Powerstones if you want a happy author!