Ava saw it all through Lunark's eyes every detail sharp, every presence heavy with power.
The chamber stretched vast and hollow, large enough to house an army, yet quiet like a cathedral sealed off from the world. Generals in obsidian armor sat in rigid, disciplined rows. The high-level teachers took their seats with stiff, formal posture, their shadows long beneath the cold lights.
At the head of the hall sat Principal Roosevelt. She leaned forward slightly, hands clasped together, her expression unreadable beneath the soft fall of her dark hair.
Rosavelle adjusted her cloak, its fabric whispering faintly in the silence. Nearby, Professor Gorath Valoron tapped the metal of his gauntlet against the table, each soft clink echoing louder than it should have in the tense stillness.
Gorath leaned toward Lunark and muttered, voice barely a whisper.
"I can't believe the Dark Lord himself is going to attend this meeting. This has to be important. I've never even heard of these crystals."
Lunark gave the slightest nod.
"Me either. That kind of knowledge is usually for the higher-ups… demon commanders."
Before either of them could say more, a thunderous vibration rolled through the hall.
The massive doors at the front began to open.
Ava, watching through Lunark, felt his breath hitch.
Rows of soldiers marched out first armored demons carrying halberds, shields, flamestaves, all splitting into two perfect lines on both side of the door. Their stomping boots echoed like war drums.
Then came the commanders.
The first one was colossal, a towering beast of a man demon with two massive dragon wings curled behind him. His face resembled that of a squid, tentacles shifting slowly as droplets of brine slid from them and pattered onto the floor. His entire body leaked a constant sheen of water and some other viscous magical liquid that dripped from his armor and skin, leaving a glistening trail wherever he stepped. Muscular and barely covered in jagged plates of armor, he carried a trident taller than most men, each step shaking the chamber as if the ocean itself walked beside him.
Ava's voice echoed inside Lunark's mind.
Their power is incredible…
The second figure glided forward, tall and impossibly slim, his entire presence unnerving. Instead of eyes, two long, curved horns jutted from the sockets, glowing faintly. His clothing was mostly loose cloth that drifted around him with each step, revealing pale skin marked in swirling red demon tattoos. As he moved, the tattoos seemed to pulse softly, and every step left a faint ripple of heat in the air.
And then Ava saw the last one.
A woman.
Her hair was alive, dozens of sleek black snakes sliding, hissing, and curling around her shoulders. She wore high-heeled armored boots and shapely rune-forged plates that blended elegance with lethality. Her armor was crafted in the likeness of serpents black and purple scales interlocking across her torso and hips giving it a subtle, fluid weight that shifted with her movements.
Her presence demanded attention.
She stepped ahead of the others, voice cool yet edged with an ancient weight.
"My name is Sarpa," she said, snakes in her hair shifting with a slow, deliberate grace. "Commander of this division, and overseer of the project you have all been summoned for."
The squid-faced warrior lumbered forward, each step leaving wet, heavy footprints across the stone. Seawater dripped from his claws in steady streams.
"I am Commander Cthulhu," he gurgled, his voice warped and alien, like sound dragged through deep water. His tentacles twitched with every syllable.
Then the horn-eyed commander emerged through the smoke, tall and spectral.
Every footfall left a small flare of heat, a glowing ember burned into the stone.
"I am Commander Vhorrak," he said, his curved horns lighting brighter as he spoke, casting red streaks across the chamber.
Sarpa spread her arms, the serpents across her shoulders lifting their heads as if listening to unheard commands.
"The Dark Lord will arrive shortly," she said, voice resonant, almost ritualistic. "Until he enters, we will proceed."
She moved to the front seat with a slow, regal stride. All eyes followed. Chairs creaked. Breaths thinned. Even the air felt as though it tightened around them.
Ava focused through Lunark, every sense sharpened to a blade's edge.
Sarpa lifted a scroll, the snakes in her hair hissing and tightening as she extended her hand. A surge of violet energy spiraled outward, and a colossal map ignited in the air above the war table. It shimmered impossibly large, impossibly deep a living projection of the boundless Shadow Omniverse.
"I hope this is common knowledge to all of you at this level," she said, her voice sharp and cold. "But in case it is not… this is the Shadow Omniverse. This is where we stand now."
A portion of the map glowed, revealing their exact location a single, bright dot swallowed inside a vast black sea.
Then the map zoomed outward.
Ava, watching through Lunark's eyes, felt his breath stop.
The ocean expanded into infinity. Layer upon layer. Unending space. And within that endless ocean floated countless hyperverses, each one only a droplet in the abyss.
But as the map zoomed closer, Ava understood the scale.
Each hyperverse contained infinite multiverses, each multiverse branching endlessly into higher realms of existence realities that transcended time, space, and every form of dimensionality. Entire cosmologies stacked upon greater cosmologies, rising into structures that defied mortal language.
Every multiverse was its own saga.
Every hyperverse was a novel unto itself.
And there were infinite of them… drifting like motes of dust in a sea too large to comprehend.
Sarpa tapped her finger lightly, and the entire ocean brightened.
"These are the regions the Dark Lord owns," she said. "The boundless ocean of creation and shadow. Every hyperverse you see here all of these were either conquered by him, or created by him. And he has conquered and created infinite amounts."
She pointed to a tiny portion of the ocean, barely a sliver.
"This," Sarpa said, "is what he has not conquered. Where the Outer Gods stay hidden… stayed hidden until yesterday."
The map warped violently. Several regions pulsed red, then tore open like wounds.
"You see these territories? They were ours. Now they're retaken by those Outer Gods."
The projection shifted again and this time the entire chamber seemed to flinch.
Hyperverses appeared collapsing in on themselves, their infinite layers folding like paper before ripping apart entirely. Whole multiverses entire stories, entire novels, entire histories of existence were shown unraveling in seconds. Characters, timelines, civilizations, even laws of physics vanished into white static.
Then the Outer Gods monstrous hands of void reached into the ruins and reshaped them, twisting the remains into newborn hyperverses bearing the Outer Gods' mark. Horrors crawled across the surfaces of these newborn realities they were rewriting the pages of creation itself.
"They destroyed one hyperverse," Sarpa said, voice low and taut. "Then created several more in its place. And worse…"
Her snakes twisted, rattling in irritation.
"They infiltrated the Dark Lord's castle," Sarpa said, each word sharp as a blade. "And they stole the Legendary Crystals, Vajra Crystals ."
A hush fell over the room the kind that felt like the universe itself holding its breath.
"We searched for those crystals for eons," she continued. "The Dark Lord searched for them long before even that. After conquering infinite hyperverses, he finally gathered all seven. And before he could assemble them… before he could awaken their power and unlock the map that leads to the strongest weapon in existence the Boundless Vajra the Outer Gods stole six of the crystals."
Ava's heart skipped.
No. No way.
The Vajra? She can't know about the Vajra. Father hid that thing ages ago… buried it beyond any realm.
But Sarpa continued, unfazed, unaware of the storm rising in Ava's mind.
"The seventh crystal is still with us," Sarpa said. "But we must retrieve the others. Each crystal grants not just infinite power… but infinite layers of infinity. Power stacked without end. Power meant only for the wielder of the Vajra."
The map dimmed except for seven flickering lights orbiting her like distant stars.
"These seven crystals are relics no being should ever touch. The first is the Crystal of Mindfulness Sati, the Golden Awareness. It grants sight across all timelines at once. Every thought, every intention, every parallel life becomes visible as golden threads. With it, deception is impossible. No event can ever be rewritten without the wielder seeing it."
She stepped slowly around the glowing projection as the next light brightened.
"The second is the Crystal of Investigation Dhamma-Vicaya, the Crystal of Truth. It cuts through concepts, laws, and even the narrative tricks of Outer Gods. It exposes the true version of every event, collapsing all false histories and false stories."
Another light swirled upward.
"The third is the Crystal of Energy Viriya, the Infinite Engine. It provides endless power, endless stamina, and a constant acceleration of strength. Every second, the user becomes something greater than the moment before."
A fourth spark shimmered.
"The fourth is the Crystal of Joy Pīti, the Crystal of Euphoria. It radiates bliss strong enough to overwrite despair, madness, corruption even the narrative fear that Outer Gods spread. Their stories crumble in its presence."
The projection rippled again.
"The fifth is the Crystal of Tranquility Passaddhi, the Stillness Beyond Infinity. Its presence stops motion, sound, causality. It can silence storms and freeze entire hyperverses."
Her snakes lifted their heads as the sixth light brightened.
"The sixth is the Crystal of Concentration Samādhi, the Absolute Focus. A focus so intense it becomes gravity itself, pulling infinite layers of reality toward the user's hand. This is the crystal that allows the First Cause Punch to reach its full shape."
Finally, the last light pulsed with a deep, balanced glow.
"And the seventh is the Crystal of Equanimity Upekkhā, the Perfect Balance. It lets the wielder stand outside existence and nonexistence, untouched by contradictions, unaffected by the infinite."
Sarpa lowered her hand, the last echo of the projection fading behind her.
"Together," she said, "these crystals awaken the Boundless Vajra the only weapon capable of ending everything and controlling everything. It is because of this weapon that the Omniverse remains truly boundless. Without it, creation would collapse under its own limits."
Her gaze swept across the hall, cold and unblinking.
"I hope your soldiers and your students are ready. Because the Outer Gods are no mere invaders. They are authors. Each hyperverse is a novel in itself, transcending all dimensionality, and to them, their worlds are simply stories they can turn the page of."
Lunark spoke quickly, trying to ease the tension tightening the air.
"Our students are ready."
Sarpa's snakes stirred, testing the truth of his voice.
"They better be," she said. "And they better be disciplined."
Principal Roosevelt stepped in sharply, her tone firm but calm.
"They will be," she said. "We've prepared them for war since the day they arrived."
Rosavelle folded her arms, cloak shifting.
"These students," she added, "are the strongest we've ever had. This year's class… most of them are already ready to be generals. Many could hold the front lines today."
A quiet murmur swept through the hall not of fear, but of expectation. The storm was coming, and everyone knew it.
Before she could continue, the entire room began to tremble.
Dust drifted from the ceiling. The table vibrated. Several soldiers instinctively grabbed for their weapons.
Sarpa straightened, her snakes drawing upward like spears.
"The Dark Lord is here. Everyone bow. Now."
Chairs scraped as everyone rose and bent low. The air thickened with red energy. From the front of the room, a swirling storm of crimson erupted. The ground shook harder, and then
He was simply there.
The Dark Lord sat already in his throne-like chair, as if he had always been present.
Sarpa was the first to stand.
"All hail the Dark Lord," she declared, her voice ringing through the chamber. "All hail Trivana the Demon of Stories."
The entire hall rose at once, armor clashing, chairs scraping, voices uniting in a thunderous echo:
"All hail the Dark Lord! All hail Trivana!"
The name thundered through the air like a cosmic drumbeat.
Ava, watching through Lunark's eyes, stared and froze.
No… it can't be.
Trivana.
The son of Ravana.
I know who this is.
The Dark Lord towered in his seat, a living monolith of muscle and malice. His demon horns curled upward like a natural crown, thick and ridged, and between them rested an ornate golden diadem set with a sapphire that pulsed like a living eye. His long black hair spilled down his back in heavy strands, framing sharply pointed elven ears that made his silhouette even more regal and more terrifying.
His skin was a deep, furious red, like molten rock cooled into flesh. Thick purple runes were branded across his chest, radiating faint energy with every breath he took. His arms were huge, wrapped in golden bands and black bracers etched with demonic patterns. A heavy purple cape draped over his shoulders and fell behind him like a stormcloud.
But what seized the room what froze every soul in place was the thing on his stomach.
A massive second mouth, wide and snarling, lined with jagged yellow teeth and two huge elephant-like tusks curving outward. It breathed. It growled. It moved independently of the mouth on his face.
And when Trivana shifted even slightly, the mouth on his stomach snapped once, like a chained beast impatient for blood.
His presence alone felt like a declaration:
He is the Dark Lord.
He is the Demon of Stories.
And the entire Shadow Omniverse bent under his rule.
Ava felt cold.
Ravana's son.
Trivana… my great uncle.
His heart slammed against his ribs. Sweat prickled along his back. Every instinct in his body screamed danger.
This is bad.
This is worse than bad.
Father sealed Ravana inside the Vajra itself… and banished Trivana to the Shadow Omniverse long ago. I should have known. I should have realized who the Dark Lord really was.
And those eyes
Ava's breath caught.
The Akuma Tenshi no Me.
He still has them.
The demonic angelic eyes… the corrupted mirror of Ava's own divine sight.
Ava swallowed hard.
The room felt smaller.
Trivana's gaze felt like a blade pressed against his throat.
The Dark Lord raised his head, his gaze sweeping the room like a blade. When he spoke, his voice shook the walls.
"I will not accept failure. Retrieve the crystals. And I will not accept traitors. That is how they were stolen in the first place."
His fist tightened, muscles bulging, the second mouth on his stomach snarling in unison.
"I do not need the crystals for power. If I desired, I could crush them into dust. Infinite power means nothing to me."
Murmurs rippled quiet, fearful.
"The crystals are a map," he continued. "A path to the center of the Black Lotus. Where my father Ravana, the Boundless Evil of the Omniverse was sealed. In the heart of the Black Lotus, where the Boundless Power rests… the Vajra."
Heat bloomed across the room as his anger flared.
"All because of Adamus," Trivana growled, his voice shaking the chamber. "The Black Lotus given form. He is the one who caused this. He is the reason I was cast here. But once I have the key… once the Vajra is in my hand… I will be boundless."
His horns glowed, the mouth on his stomach snarled, and the room seemed to darken around him.
"And with my father beside me… we will rule all. There are many things sealed inside that weapon including the Crystal of the Omniverse, the source that allows the Omniverse, and all others, to remain boundless. A safeguard to guarantee they cannot be destroyed."
He leaned forward, eyes blazing.
"I will rip it from the Vajra. I will destroy it. And I will rebuild everything every realm, every world, every story in my image, and in my father's."
The chamber erupted in applause, loud enough to rattle the stone walls.
Ava listened frozen inside Lunark's mind, his heart pounding like a war drum.
Back in his dorm, Ava shot to his feet. He paced in circles, gripping his hair, sweat gathering on his palms.
"No. This is bad. This can't happen." His breathing grew sharp. "Trivana can't get the Vajra father hid it for a reason"
His thoughts crashed into another name.
Soryana.
He stopped pacing.
"Sister!" he shouted. "I know you're watching! You're always popping in and out this is your time, come on! They're planning to destroy our family, destroy the omniverse!"
Silence.
No voice. No presence. Nothing.
Ava swallowed hard.
"Don't tell me… they pulled her away from watching me."
He clenched his fists, trembling.
"Only if Father wasn't such a fool if he would actually use his omnipresence instead of letting everyone have free will. If he'd just monitor things, just a little he could've stopped this! All this chaos! Chaos he could control if he'd only try!"
A strange sound buzzed in his ears. Ava froze and tuned back into Lunark's senses.
The meeting was still underway.
The Dark Lord watched from his throne, unmoving until suddenly one of the generals stepped forward.
The room gasped.
The "general" tore off their uniform, ripping fabric and armor away revealing gleaming white, gold, and blue battle plating. Light radiated from his skin. A shield materialized on one arm. In the other hand, a sword forged from pure hope and hyperverses glowed with rainbow-colored radiance.
The warrior pointed his blade at Trivana.
"It's over, Dark Lord!"
Sarpa surged forward, snakes hissing.
"Another traitor. Another spy."
But Trivana raised a hand.
"Stand down, Captain. I will deal with him."
The warrior stepped into the center of the hall, voice ringing with fury.
"I am done with your tyranny," the warrior roared. "My people our entire cluster of hyperverses our novels, our worlds, our histories all prepared for this moment. Countless lives across multiple hyperverses sacrificed their existence to forge this blade. A true hyperversal weapon. And today, your story ends!"
He rushed forward, aura exploding, shaking the entire palace.
Energy cracked the stone beneath his feet.
Trivana stayed seated on his throne.
The warrior leaped, sword raised high, power roaring like storms across eternity
The blade touched Trivana's forehead.
It shattered.
The warrior hit the floor, staring at the broken handle in disbelief.
"Impossible… Multiple hyperverses gave their lives to make this… how?"
Trivana smiled.
The mouth on his stomach drooled thick, hungry saliva.
The warrior panicked, gathering energy into his hands but as the blast shot forward, the light turned red and bent inward, absorbed into Trivana's skin like smoke caught by a vacuum.
"What… what's happening?!"
His power flickered.
Then died.
He reached for his spellbook, flipping through pages desperately.
"Come on… COME ON"
A massive magical sword began to form in the air
Then disintegrated.
Pages dimmed.
The magic snuffed out like a candle.
"What's going on?!" he gasped.
Trivana laughed.
"Powers and magic do not work on me," he said. "Nor do they work in my presence. Only truths affect me. I deny all forms of phenomenon. I absorb them. I control them."
The mouth on his stomach opened wide, sickeningly wide, its tusks scraping the air.
A long, wet tongue shot out, wrapped around the warrior's torso, and yanked him off the ground.
"No NO!" the warrior screamed, kicking, clawing, thrashing helplessly.
The chamber watched in frozen silence.
The tongue dragged him closer… closer…
Until the stomach-mouth swallowed him whole.
And the screaming stopped.
Ava watched through Lunark's eyes, sweat breaking across his skin. His heart hammered, each beat shaking his thoughts loose.
I have to find a way to get those crystals… all of them.
Before Trivana does.
But I can't get caught. If he realizes who I am if he realizes what I can do it's over.
He forced himself to steady Lunark's breathing. Forced himself to ignore the crushing fear rising in his throat.
Ava stayed locked inside Lunark's senses and watched the rest of the meeting unfold, every word carving deeper into his mind.
He didn't leave until Trivana's throne room finally emptied.