In the world of [Bright], Hyades was often described as a peaceful place where magic thrived. Magic, technology and culture were booming in this golden age of humanity, and the collaboration between massive organisations has never been smoother.
However, it wasn't always like that.
After the Age of the Dragons came to a close, no absolute Gods ruled over humans any more. Some created fiefs that turned into Kingdoms. Some merged Kingdoms that turned into Empires. However, one thing was for sure. The void at the top led to a bloodlust-filled warring period where the strongest humans vied for absolute authority, seeking to become the new overlords of Hyades.
The war lasted hundreds of years, causing as much bloodshed as the Great Dragon Dragon War. Even the Solaris House's founder, the most powerful human of his time, couldn't end the war. Alas, the war wouldn't last forever as, ironically, the only way to stop a war… was with another war.
As the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
While humanity was busy killing themselves, a threat beyond their wildest imagination appeared. The seat at the top of Hyades wasn't just coveted by its inhabitants… but extraterrestrial ones as well.
When the Demon race first invaded Hyades, it took humanity by surprise. They came from another dimension and decimated everything in their path. They had waited for the Dragons to annihilate each other and had instigated humanity to weaken themselves while hiding in the shadows.
The Demons' goal was clear.
Eat Hyades whole.
They were going to enslave the population to do their bidding and colonise the planet to expand their resources. And with Hyades' best protectors weakened, their plan might have succeeded too.
Unfortunately for the Demons, humanity was nothing if not resilient. While the first generation of heroes perished during the Great Dragon War, their bloodline remained thick. All those centuries of in-fighting have made humanity's best more powerful than their predecessors.
And the one who rose above all was none other than the Second Hero of the Solaris House.
The Solaris Saint.
If the Solaris House's Founder was considered the hero who ended the Great Dragon War, the Solaris Saint was the hero who saved humanity from the Demons. As the second person who wielded the Holy Sword, the Solaris Saint blazed through the battlefields with her sacred flames, burning any heathens in her way.
Blessed by the Goddess Hyades herself, the Solaris Saint was well-regarded as the most powerful human of all time. Together with the next generation of humanity's heroes, they pushed back the Demonic threat and expelled them from Hyades altogether.
After their victory against the Demons, humanity formed a peace treaty. No one wanted to repeat their forefounders' mistakes and the dreadful Demon invasion. Hence, they united and founded the Hyades Republic—a government where no single entity was above another. Their own respective leaders could still govern each region, be it democratically elected or inherited through bloodline.
However, none were allowed to wage war with each other if they wished to fly the banner of the Hyades Republic. And if one state refused to follow the rules, the rest would unanimously denounce them, essentially turning the entire world against them.
The creation of the Hyades Republic ensured that humanity would be united should the Demons invade once again and that humanity wouldn't be fractured and blindsided when the reckoning arrives and the planet's fate hangs in the balance.
And that peace has continued ever since.
But…
"As you are well aware, the Demons are the cause of all the calamities we will face in the future."
Yue wiped off the sweat on her face and casually exposed the truth behind the villains of [Bright] to Amon.
"But the Demons aren't the only threat we will face. The Herald aims to resurrect the Titans and revert Hyades to the Age of Myth. And if that happens, humanity would be wiped out either way. The Titans would destroy humanity just to restore their reign, while the Demons would exterminate and enslave us. That's the Fifth and Sixth Calamities, Amon. And the reason why we lost."
Fighting against the Demon race with an army with billions in their reserve alone was a near-impossible task. Add the ancient Gods that ruled over the Dragons into the mix… It was no wonder the Amon in Yue's timeline failed.
"We may have won the war if it were just the Demons. But the Titans had weakened us… weakened you, Amon. And that caused the Demons to run over Hyades and claim the world for themselves."
Amon's face stiffened and he clicked his tongue. It wasn't pleasant to hear about his failures, even if it were him in the future.
"Is that why we're here? To stop the Titans from resurrecting?"
"No, the Fifth Calamity cannot be avoided." Unfortunately, Yue replied with bad news. "The Herald has been preparing for this day for thousands of years. It is only a matter of time before she resurrects the Titans."
The young girl's spell finally reached its completion, and the seals blocking the stone gate finally unravelled themselves. The massive door creaked open, revealing a corridor that led further into the cavern. Yue relaxed her shoulders as if to stretch out after a workout and continued:
"But we can delay it."
"... How?"
"Every graveyard has its undertaker."
Yue confidently stepped into the corridor, her ruby eyes sparkling at the path ahead. Gesturing over her shoulder, she beckoned Amon to with a knowing smile.
"Let's go meet her."
❖❖❖
Amon followed Yue down the massive passageway, and with each step, his senses were heightened to the maximum. Although he hasn't trained much in his current life, the memory of the top Transcendent on Earth is still ingrained in his consciousness. After passing through the sealed gate, Amon couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, as if someone was constantly watching him.
If the cavern before the gate was nothing more than an ancient cave, the current cavern before him felt like he was walking on thin ice. The tense and silent air, the cold, wintry temperatures, the irregular mana flow—everything was putting Amon at unease.
It felt like he was willingly stepping into the belly of the beast, and he was utterly defenceless.
And yet, Yue continued as if walking in her back garden.
'Is this girl trying to drag me into a trap?'
Amon seriously considered this hypothesis. His instincts were screaming out… What lay within this cave was far beyond anything the former Transcendent had ever faced. If she wanted to kill him to hide the evidence, this was the perfect place to do so.
'No, that's stupid. To go through all that trouble just to kill me here.'
Fortunately, Amon's rational brain was still working. It didn't make sense for Yue to travel to the Solaris House with an engagement request, reveal her truth to him, and teleport him to this isolated cavern just for her to kill him now.
Nevertheless, Amon increased his vigilance, especially on the carefree girl almost about to skip merrily down the corridor.
"Come to think of it, this could be considered our first date in this timeline, right?"
"... What?"
"A date! We're doing things that lovers do! Even if we're engaged, aren't we going a little too fast?"
Yue covered the blush on her snowy white face like a girl in love. No, she truly was a maiden struck by Cupid's arrow. Sneaking glances at Amon, she looked between her lonesome arm and his before firmly plastering her body upon Amon.
"Hey!"
"Oh, don't be stingy. It's cold here, and this is the best way to prevent us from freezing to death!"
"..."
Amon was at a loss for words. Indeed, the temperatures within this icy cave were below freezing, and the pair were still wearing their noble attire. Amon fared a little better as he had donned his coming-of-age suit. On the other hand, Yue wore a dress without a shawl or jacket.
However, neither of them would freeze to death.
Amon possessed a dragon-blessed body, and his tolerance to the cold was much higher than a regular human's. Yue was in the same boat. As a magician, she could circulate mana to warm her body. Alternatively, she could have conjured a spell to create a small flame. The fact that she was still functioning as usual proved that the cold did not affect her.
Though, that didn't matter one bit to Yue. If she was intent on using that excuse, there was nothing Amon could do to deny her. Realising the puzzle she'd placed Amon in, Yue smiled and redirected the conversation.
"Amon! What is your favourite food?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"As your wife-to-be, should I know my husband's likes and dislikes? Ah, but I don't know how to cook now, so I will take some time to learn your favourite dishes. So bear with me, okay?"
"..."
Words could no longer escape Amon's mouth. Eventually, the young boy gave up and decided the best way to deal with this incessant girl was to move on from the conversation and ignore her probes entirely.
"Tell me what lies at the end of this cave."
Much to Yue's disappointment, Amon hurriedly changed the topic. However, he allowed the despondent girl to continue sticking to his body, so Yue counted it as a minor win for herself.
"The Guardian of the Necropolis." Nevertheless, Yue was delighted to answer any of Amon's questions and continued: "I'd told you that the Dragons defeated the Titans aeons ago. But not all of the Titans could be killed. Some of them were made by Hyades and are considered part of Nature. If they were killed, the planet would become vulnerable, and our world would be infinitely weakened."
The Titans weren't just a race of sentient beings; they were part of Hyades itself. Some possessed the power to create landmasses, while others could raise oceans. Their existence was why the ancient world could thrive and new life forms were created.
Therefore, while the Dragons won the war, they couldn't wholly annihilate the Titans. While most Titans had been killed, a small minority who controlled Nature had been sealed inside the Necropolis.
"After the Dragons sealed those Titans, they needed to ensure that no one could unseal them. Be it accidentally or purposefully. Hence, they hid the Necropolis in the North Pole, where no living creature would live. Furthermore, they created a series of illusory spells to obscure the entrance to the cave. And finally…"
Arm-in-arm, Yue and Amon walked through the wide corridor into the final chamber at the deepest depths of the cavern. Amon felt as if he was being pushed through a birth canal as he went from obscured darkness to a symphony of lights.
The first thing that caught Amon's attention was the endearing amount of light within this chamber. It looked more like a throne hall or an atrium than a dark, gloomy cave. The next thing that Amon saw was the ungodly amount of runes carved into every corner of the dome-shaped chamber. Each rune possessed much more mana than Amon could draw out, and millions of them were scattered throughout the dome, reminiscent of a starry night sky.
And finally, the cherry on top of it all…
"No way…"
Amon's soul was shaking for the first time in his existence. Frozen in place, his pupils dilated, unable to believe the sight before him. His heart rate accelerated beyond his usual limits, and every fibre of his being was screaming out at him to escape.
Why?
[Children of humanity. Why have you disrupted my slumber?]
Two golden Suns stared at Amon's body, paralysing his soul from the neck down. The serpentine neck that connected the two Suns to the rest of its body was covered in resplendent golden scales that shimmer brighter than starlight. Its massive body was enough to cover an entire palace compound, as just one of its fangs was double the size of Amon's body.
Adorned with golden scales all over its sinuous body, the colossal being stood straight up and spread its wings so wide that it covered the size of the dome. The claws that gracefully hung over the ground showed numerous signs of cracks and tears, telling tales of formidable battles forgotten epochs ago.
Yet, it wasn't the size of the monster that overwhelmed Amon.
The unbearing amount of mana from its body suffocated the former Transcendent, and he unwittingly bent down his waist. The pressure it emitted was far beyond that of gravity, and Amon felt himself naturally submitting to the mystical being.
It was his bloodline screaming back at him.
Submit or die.
Biting down on his lips till they bled, Amon defiantly went against his body's wishes and gazed up at the indescribable entity once more. The two golden orbs locked eyes with Amon, showing the first signs of shock within them. But the pressure instantly lessened, and Amon found it easier to breathe again.
[Child of Solaris… This one is Yval, Guardian of the Necropolis and the First Golden Dragon… Now, tell me… How did you get here?]
This was Amon's first meeting with Yval, the original Golden Dragon Sovereign and the Progenitor of the Golden Dragons.