The Realm Lord sat on his throne, a massive structure carved out a of a dying star, stuck in time and space. Above him, a swirling cascade of galaxies spun slowly, casting a soft glow across the chamber.
Entire civilizations had risen and fallen in front of his watchful eyes, and yet, none of it stirred him anymore, the grandeur of his rule, once a source of pride and purpose, had turned into a cycle of relentless cycle of tedium.
He was master of a vast realm encompassing countless galaxies and dimensions, yet for all his power he was hopelessly bored.
He had long since stopped counting the eons. Time, in its usual sense, meant little to a being like him. After all he had overseen the birth and death of stars, creation of planets, rise empires spanning multiple planets or even galaxies. He could manipulate time, space, matter and energy with a mere thought or whim of his. But what was the purpose when there is no challenge, or thrill?
The realm lord sighed deeply, his voice echoing through the wide hall holding the realm above it, seemingly sending quakes up to stars themselves.
"Another day, another eternity," he muttered. The vastness of his realm spread before him, yet all he saw was the monotony of it. "What is left to conquer, when I have conquered all that this world got to offer?"
Suddenly a soft fluttering sound caught his attention, he glanced to his right, where a small, glowing orb hovered in the air- a messenger from the nature spirits, the orb bobed gently before him, pulsating with a soft green light calming to even just look at.
"The spirits request your presence, my lord," the orb chimed. It's voice was melodic, serene. The realm lord with even going knew the situation and just waved his dismissive hand and replied "tell them to handle it. They are perfectly capable."
The orb hesitated for a moment, then flickered before disappearing. He leaned back in his throne, his crown slightly tilting to the side. His thoughts drifted, as they often did to the past - those early days when he first gained control over galaxies, when every moment was filled with discovery and excitement. Back when being the lord of a realm meant something.
But now, he had grown tired of it all. The petitions, the worship, the endless cycle of creation and destruction. It had become a routine, a dance he had mastered long ago. He longed for something new, something unpredictable, something…. EXCITING.
As he brooded, a deep, rumbling voice broke the silence. "Still sulking, my lord?"
The Realm Lord turned to see the enormous figure of Drakken, the eldest of dragons, approaching. His scales shimmered like molten metal, and his eyes burned with an ancient, fiery wisdom. Drakken, like other dragons in his family, had been with him since the beginning, serving as both guardians and advisors.
"I am not sulking," the Realm Lord replied with a half-hearted grin. "I am contemplating the meaningless of my existence."
Drakken snorted, sending a plume of smoke curling into the air. "Contemplating again, are we? You've been doing that for centuries."
"And yet, I have found no answers to my dilemma," the Realm Lord said, raising from his throne. "Perhaps I've seen too much, done too much. When you control everything, nothing surprises you anymore."
The dragon tilted his head, considering. "Perhaps it's not what you control, but what you no longer seek."
The Realm Lord frowned "what do you mean?"
Drakken's eyes glinted. " you have stopped seeking adventure my lord. Once, you roamed the cosmos, hungry for discovery and knowledge unknown. But now you sit here, letting the realm unfold around you while waiting for something to happen."
"I have no need to seek," replied the Realm Lord, though even as he said that, he knew the truth in Drakken's words. He had grown complacent.
The dragons leaned closer, his voice lowering. "Then perhaps it is time to seek again."
The words hung in the air and the Realm Lord felt something stir inside of him- A flicker of excitement, of curiosity. Could it be that simple, to leave the throne, to abandon the role he had played for so long and go in search of adventure once more?
"But where would I go?" The Realm Lord asked, almost to himself.
Drakken's mouth curled into what you could only describe as a menacing draconian smile. "Wherever you wish, the world is vast, the time is endless and even for you my lord, no disrespect, but there are places far beyond left to explore. Realms beyond your reach, dimensions untouched by your power. Perhaps even something … dangerous unknowns being or circumstances that needs to be explored." Drakken had a bit of a mad grin by the end of his sentence.
"Danger" the Realm Lord mused, stuck on that one word. "It has been so long since I have known it."
Before he could answer the hall doors were swung open once more, a booming voice echoed across the chamber. "If it's adventure you are after, I have got just the thing."
A massive figure stomped into the room. Vornak, one of the world eaters, a hulking beast that could consume entire planets as a snack, yet somehow, he had developed odd camaraderie with the realm lord over the eons.
"You?" The Realm Lord raised an eyebrow, amused. "Since when do you offer adventure, other than going around eating stars and planets, Vornak?"
Vornak's toothy grin was impossible to miss "I've been thinking." Just that line made the dragon and Realm Lord hide a chuckle. But not noticing their expressions Vornak continued "We have got that ship, right? The Eternal Voyager. Sails the stars, slip through dimensions, why not take her out for a spin? Forget the throne and the realm for once my Lord. Just you, me, the family, and whatever we run into out there. Pirates, monsters, cosmic storms or super novas - who knows?"
For the first time in what felt like centuries the realm lord felt a genuine spark of interest. The Eternal Voyager. He had built that ship in the early days of his rule, back when he still dreamed of adventure. It was capable of travelling through space and time, traversing the endless possibilities of the multiverse.
The Realm Lord turned to Drakken, whose fiery gaze was as intense as ever. "What do you think?"
The dragon huffed. "I think it's time."
Vornak clapped his enormous hands together, sending waves into the sea of galaxies above. "Then it's settled! Gather the crew. The Realm Lord's going on a adventure."
As Vornak's booming laughter echoed through the chamber, a grin was plastered on Drakken's face as well, and the Realm Lord felt something he hadn't in very long time - excitement.
For too long, he had sat idle, waiting for something to happen. But now he would make it happen.
The adventure was about to begin.