Chapter 78
'Venus.'
Flowers bloomed all at once around Theo and Aldraya.
Their petals dripped pink liquid with a scent both sweet and rotten, scattering sensations that confused every sense.
The sky above shifted into a violet dusk, yet streaks of light on the horizon reflected silhouettes of naked bodies dancing among mirages of love, creating a world too beautiful, so much so that it forced tears to fall for no clear reason.
On the water's surface, beloved faces appeared for a moment, then vanished as quickly as the foam of a burst tire on the waves, leaving behind faint yet piercing traces of memory.
Every element of nature around them seemed alive, merging with the resonance of Sa played by the sibling Administrators, framing the space with a blend of beauty and hidden threat.
In the midst of the vortex, the figure of Administrator Thurash appeared, representing the planet Venus, standing near Princess Valthura, while Ziesma remained behind Quorin's right flank.
Thurash looked like a being made of flower petals soaked in blood, spreading an alluring aroma that forced any creature to fall in love—yet that scent was a soft poison, one that turned affection into blind worship.
Theo sensed from afar that Thurash's Sa was the Union of Beauty and Pain, an ability that weaponized love, manipulating emotions and intentions with the deadliest subtlety.
Thurash's demeanor seemed gentle on the outside, yet obsession and manipulation hid within every movement, every glimmer of color on their petal-formed body.
The emblem they carried—a heart growing from a black rose—reinforced the impression that love and pain had fused into a single force ready to strike anyone crossing their path.
Theo observed closely, realizing that Thurash's presence added a deeper layer of complexity, shifting the rhythm and will of an already intricate battlefield.
'Mars.'
A centerless earthquake shook the world with immeasurable intensity, upsetting what little was left of the surrounding structure of reality near Theo and the Administrators.
The sky rained not water but droplets of fire, burning the air and producing a scent of heated metal that stabbed the senses.
Animals, humans, even the shadows on the ground outside, glared at one another with boiling hatred, while places of worship turned into arenas of conflict, people fighting over whose prayer sounded the loudest.
Ancient bones trembled beneath their feet, and long-buried weapons rose and floated as though called forth by a primordial war cry, asserting the presence of a power far beyond ordinary humans.
Amid the chaos, Administrator Frashko appeared, representing the planet Mars, standing beside Ziesma at Quorin's right flank, while Thurash remained behind Valthura's left.
Frashko's body resembled a red iron statue that constantly released sparks from its own wounds, and every step it took caused flowers of flame to grow from the ground.
Theo recognized from afar that Frashko's Sa was called Perpetual Conflict, a will that turned anything it touched into endless combat, transforming the environment and every being around it into a living battlefield.
Frashko's nature appeared valiant, destruction-thirsty, worshipping war as a sacred act.
Every motion, from stride to stomp, projected an aura that forced anyone nearby to adapt—or be consumed by the conflict.
The emblem they carried, a spear soaked in blood-red light, emphasized that Frashko was a being born from warfare itself, saturating the surrounding field with destructive energy.
Theo watched with heightened caution, understanding that the combined presence of Ziesma, Thurash, and Frashko had created a field that tested not only his resolve but the very structure and logic of reality.
'Jupiter.'
Thunder boomed from something purer and more judgmental than clouds—a "verdict" echoing across the sky, enforcing unseen law.
Golden lines of light stretched out, forming massive unreadable text hanging above the continent, as if delivering warnings and judgments to every living creature.
Time itself seemed to bow to the will present, making everything on the field—including Theo Vkytor—pause briefly to adjust.
The shadow of each individual stood separately from its owner, demanding justice for small sins once ignored, while the sky became a courtroom and the earth its silent yet stern floor.
Amid this terrifying cosmic spectacle, Administrator Uorkash appeared, representing the planet Jupiter, standing beside Ziesma at Quorin's right flank, while Thurash remained behind Valthura's left.
Uorkash's eyeless face stared forward, and their six outstretched hands emitted thunder and the winds of thousands of unwritten laws, asserting authority over the order of reality.
Theo interpreted from afar that Uorkash's Sa was called the Heavenly Mandate, a power capable of deciding who had the right to exist and enforcing universal laws unseen by ordinary beings.
Uorkash's demeanor appeared cold and just, enforcing law without empathy. Every movement of their hands and every echoing thunder demanded awareness and obedience from all present.
The emblem encircling a skull—a ring of light spinning endlessly—affirmed their boundless power to regulate existence and control the balance of all reality.
'Saturn.'
The light frozen by Quorin's and Valthura's Sa slowly dimmed, making room for the lingering echo of laughter once heard before being preserved into an endless melody.
The sound pierced the air with an unfamiliar rhythm, as though recording every lost second and sticking it to the skin of reality, reminding Theo Vkytor that time outside had become fluid and fragile.
Children once frozen by the Sa stopped growing, while trees traced their own memories, wilting mournfully, evoking a tangible yet untouchable sense of loss.
The sky transformed into a colossal clock with cracked hands moving in reverse, devouring every memory—sweet or bitter—as if the past were being consumed by an inevitable void.
Within this distortion of time appeared Administrator Belareth, representing the planet Saturn, standing beside Thurash, completing the cosmic formation among the Administrators.
Its skeletal body resembled a decaying giant clock, slow and unhurried, devouring one memory of nearby living beings with each ticking second.
Theo understood from afar that Belareth's Sa was called the Chrono Devourer, an authority that consumed both past and future, making reality on the field fragile and unpredictable.
Its presence created a heaviness that forced every creature to adjust, even those long accustomed to wielding Sa.
Belareth's nature appeared wise and fatalistic, walking with the slow steps of an elder awaiting death, unable to feel or express emotion.
The emblem of a broken time-circle at its center served as a visual warning of its incompleteness—that the time it governed was not a simple linear flow, but an infinite vortex capable of devouring all without mercy.
'Uranus.'
The shapes around Theo suddenly became illogical, as though the world rejected the rules it had always followed.
His own shadow, which should have remained still, walked ahead of him before Theo centered the Determination, Will, Intention, and Ambition of an author within himself, steadying the fragmentation that threatened to warp reality.
To be continued…