Worries

"The Cosmos is within us; we are made of star stuff. We are a means for the universe to know itself."

A quote from one of the astronomers from his previous life flashed through his mind.

He smiled nostalgically as he remembered it. It was a very true and accurate description of the cosmos.

And by using such a specific selection of words, that astronomer was attempting to paint it in a more light-hearted and cheerful manner. However, the underlying meaning remains the same. Those words revealed a chilling secret of the cosmos that should never come to light in his world.

The golden flames sparked in the fireplace, illuminating the room. Aucuses sat on a stool, a palette and brush in his hands, and a canvas on a wooden stand in front of him.

His gaze was fixed on the painting, but his heart was elsewhere.

It has been a few days since the journey began.

Lilith returned to her room after spending time with him. But, after seeing the cosmos, she became silent and distant. She was mostly dazed while speaking to him, only responding with simple words at the end.

She had a problem that was causing her great distress. This was clearly evident on her face. But he didn't question her about it, instead letting her to have her own alone time to recover from whatever she was going through. He knew sometimes it was a better option to give people some space, and, more importantly, he wasn't familiar enough with her to be there for her. His presence may even become detrimental.

And, when it comes to Lilith, her origin has always been shrouded in mystery. Not just her; it can be said of all the Ancient Gods.

The Ancient gods were are regarded as evil, insane, and twisted. They truly are, but they were also powerful, far more powerful than the gods of this era. Their insanity and craziness increased their power. Unlike him and other gods who were always trying to suppress that primal instinct, they embraced it and grew stronger as a result.

He had met some of them, such as the Mighty Giant King Aurmir and the Hot-tempered Elf King Soniathryum.

The Ancient Gods declared their rule over the known land and sky, as well as the spirit and astral worlds, claiming things far beyond comprehension as their own; this actions are a clear expression of their own madness.

Their reign of terror and madness over the world lasted thousands of years, until the creator emerged from the chaos sea. "He" was the light that shone in the dark and depraved world. "He" was regarded as humanity's saviour. "He" slaughtered the majority of the ancient gods without mercy or compassion, while the Aucuses and other kings of angels butchered and enslaved the mythical races.

These crazed gods have a blurry origin, with the exception of Giant King Aurmir, whose parents were humans. This was a secret that the giant king guarded with his life, not revealing it to anyone even until his death.

The graves in waning forest were then opened by him and other kings of angels, revealing astonishing secret to many. He recalls how shocked he was at the time.

While other Ancient Gods origins are hazy or non-existent in historical records.

Aucuses, on the other hand, is now aware that all races are descended from humans. Their transformations into quasi-human or non-human should be the result of rashly combining with beyonder characteristics.

Unlike Aurmir, who was born from humans, some ancient gods may have been humans before becoming insane and crazy gods, forgetting and losing all of their past selves and humanity.

This is far-fetched, but the possibilities are so striking that no one can ignore them.

So, now for the important questions,

Was Lilith ever a human?

Was she a post-apocalyptic survivor?

During her transformation into the Sanguine Ancestor, did she go insane and forget about her past?

These thoughts raced through his mind as he stroked the painting with his brush.

He really wasn't the type to be so concerned about someone who wasn't even close to him. But when it comes to Lilith, he has a different feeling.

He wasn't that dense to not know what the feeling was.

He likes Lilith. He is sure of that. It was not just some sort of infatuation, he felt, influenced by her "Beauty". He really likes Lilith.

Even though he was clear about his feelings for her, he didn't express them to her at all.

The feeling of holding it all back in his heart was not pleasant at all. It was tormenting. He also knew that suppressing those feelings was not a good idea.

But there was nothing he could do about it. Unless he wishes to cause chaos and disaster by throwing away his entire plan and breaking her concealment.

As he considered this, his grip on the brush tightened.

Crack!

It split in two and disintegrated into flying ashes.

Aucuses sighed, his eyes distant and his heart heavy, as he watched the flying ashes fall from his hand onto the floor.

After a brief moment in silence, he took another brush from the nearby stand and resumed his painting. He was trying to completely focus on it, ignoring his heavy heart.

He was painting one of the glimpses of the cosmos, that he saw through his visions.

This glimpse wasn't as magnificent and breath-taking as the one he showed Lilith, but it showed of the true side of the cosmos, which hides behind its wonders and mysteries, the kind that can drive most minds insane.

His painting was of a gargantuan galaxy.

It was many times the size of his home galaxy, swirling in the vast ocean of darkness known as space. There are billions of stars gleaming in this cosmic ocean. There are also billions upon billions of planets, each with their own history and tale.

All of them, all of those seemingly limitless possibilities, aren't made up, but are real, out there, and exist right now.

It is the Acallaris Galaxy, which is 5 billions years older than the Milky Way.

However, this was not the only aspect of his painting. It decpited something greater, something beyond.

It emerged from within, dyeing the ocean of darkness surrounding the galaxy in streaks of purple light.

It was a serpent with five heads. It towered above the galaxy, tearing the galaxy apart just by being there. The serpent's eyes were significantly bigger than any known star in the cosmos.

The serpent's heads were hungrily looking down on the galaxy. The mouths of the three heads were open, and golden dusts was emitting from them.

It was enormous in size, dwarfing the entire galaxy in comparison. It can make anyone fell insignificant compared to it.

The serpent's three heads were swooping down on the galaxy, their mouths wide enough to swallow millions of stars.

Their descent was tearing the galaxy apart. The stars and planets collapsed, along with the civilizations that lived on them, who were still oblivious until their demise.

It was all disintegrating into cosmic dust. Forgotten and buried.

The painting truly depicted yet another tragic tale from the cosmos, which were already far too numerous to count.

(Image here)

Aucuses completed his painting with a final purple stroke in the ocean of darkness. At this point, he was completely focused on the painting.

Then, he burned the palette and brush in golden flames because they were already tainted with purple streaks. It was purified in the sun's golden flames.

He rose from his chair, his gaze fixed on the serpent and apocalyptic scene he had drawn on his painting. His heart was still calm and indifferent.

The serpent was a outer god.

It's known as the Dominator of the Endless Void. Devourer of Worlds. His painting depicted the outer god devouring a galaxy to satisfy its hunger.

Aucuses had no terror or fear of the galaxy-devouring outer god even after staring at the painting for a while.

Why?

Even with its immense power and might, this galaxy-devouring outer god is nothing more than an ant in comparison to Mother Goddess of Depravity. "She" is right here on the crimson moon, and he had confronted "Her" and felt "Her" horror. So seeing this didn't cause much of a ripple in his heart.

But, it reminded him of the kind of existence, he will face when the barrier breaks.

'It's no surprise that it's called Apocalypse. When the barrier breaks, the destruction caused by battles between pillars and great old ones may shatter galaxies apart.'

With a sigh, he thought. He sensed the bleakness of his future, his heart becoming heavier than it already was.

He pressed all of his worries into his heart and sealed the painting of dominator of the void and put it away.

He then went to his cabinet and took out an entire wine bottle. He drank a lot in a single gulp after opening the lid with his hands.

While doing so, he gazed out the windows at the starry sky. He finally spoke up, his deep voice echoing across the ship.

"Venus is here."

With his words, a brilliant yellow-white planet emerged from the side of his windows.