Chapter 1: The Cry That Shook the Stars
Darkness. Warmth. The rhythmic thumping of a heart that wasn't mine.
For eons, I had existed as the Void God, the Demon Paragon, and the Divine Musician. I had shattered stars with a wave of my hand and sealed Arbiters—the rulers of the Multiverse—into pocket dimensions.
But right now, I was being squeezed.
"It is time, my love," a voice echoed in my soul. It was a voice that sounded like starlight singing—Ria, the Dragon Queen, the traitor Arbiter who had sacrificed her physical form to become my weapon. "The tenth vessel is ready. The birth canal is opening. Try not to kill your new mother on the way out."
'Very funny, Ria,' I thought, my consciousness vast and heavy, currently crammed into a tiny brain. 'Status of the Sword?'
"Antakala is stable within your Soul Sea. I have locked ninety-nine percent of its aura. If I released it now, this entire planet would collapse into a black hole."
'Good. Let us begin.'
The Celestial Realm, The Divine Ye Clan Estate.
The sky above the Ye Clan—one of the four Ancient Sovereign Clans of the Realm—was usually calm. But today, the heavens were screaming.
Clouds the color of molten gold swirled above the Patriarch's manor. Lightning that made no sound danced across the horizon.
Inside the delivery room, the Patriarch, Ye Tian, paced back and forth. He was a Saint Realm expert, a man who could crush mountains, but right now, his hands were trembling.
"Push, My Lady! I see the head!" the midwife shouted.
With one final, earth-shaking effort from his mother, I entered the world.
The moment my skin touched the air, the natural laws of this world reacted. I wasn't just a baby; I was an anomaly. I was a being with the soul of a God-Slayer stuffed into mortal flesh.
BOOM!
A pillar of purple and gold light erupted from the delivery room, blasting through the roof and piercing the heavens.
High above, the clouds twisted into the shape of a massive Primordial Dragon bowing its head, and a Giant Sword cleaving the sky.
The spiritual energy In the room became so dense it turned into liquid mist. The midwives fell to their knees, unable to withstand the pressure.
'Too much,' I noted internally. 'Ria, dampen the output. We need to be geniuses, not targets. The Order of Providence will sense this.'
"On it," Ria whispered.
The massive Dragon in the sky faded, leaving only a lingering golden glow. The pressure vanished, replaced by a warm, holy aura.
Ye Tian rushed to the bedside, his eyes wide with shock and joy. He looked at the child in the midwife's arms.
I didn't cry. Crying is for mortals who are confused by existence. I knew exactly where I was.
I opened my eyes.
They weren't the milky, unfocused eyes of a newborn. They were deep, terrifyingly clear, and for a split second, the pupils were vertical slits—Dragon Eyes—before they returned to a deep, dark brown.
"He… He isn't crying," the midwife stuttered, trembling as she handed me to my father.
Ye Tian held me as if I were the most fragile, precious artifact in the universe. He looked into my eyes and felt a jolt run through his cultivation base.
"Look at him," Ye Tian whispered to his wife, who was exhausted but smiling. "He doesn't cry. He observes. And that phenomenon… The Heavens bowed to him."
My mother reached out and touched my cheek. "He is no ordinary child, Tian. I felt it while carrying him. He felt… ancient."
Ye Tian lifted me high into the air.
"He will be the dragon that soars above the nine heavens. He will restore our Ye Clan to the chaotic era's glory."
He looked into my eyes, searching for a name.
"His name shall be Rudra. The Roarer. The Storm."
'Rudra,' I tested the name in my mind. 'Acceptable.'
"A fitting name for a destroyer," Ria giggled in my Soul Sea. "Now, try to act like a baby, Rudra. You're scaring the maids."
I decided to humor them. I let out a small, soft yawn and closed my eyes, feigning sleep.
Inside, however, I was already at work.
'Ria, scan the surroundings.'
"We are in the Ye Clan. High-density spiritual energy. Your father is a Saint Realm cultivator—strong for this world, but an ant compared to your prime. Your bloodline… oh, this is interesting."
'What is it?'
"Your new body has the Supreme Yang Body, and because of my presence in your soul, it has mutated. You have the Dragon-Sovereign Constitution. Your blood is already boiling with power. You could probably start cultivating right now."
'No,' I decided. 'A baby's meridians are too fragile. I will wait… three months. Then, we begin the body tempering.'
I sensed the sword, Antakala, floating in the vast ocean of my soul. It was the weapon that would kill the Unknown Rulers. It was calm now, but I could feel its thirst.
I felt safe. I was born into power, with parents who could protect me until I could protect myself.
Suddenly, I felt a cold gaze from far, far away. Not from the room. Not from the clan. But from the sky itself.
The Order of Providence had noticed the fluctuation.
'They are looking,' I thought, my mental voice turning cold.
"Let them look," Ria hissed, her dragon aura spiking slightly. "By the time they find us, you will be strong enough to sever their heads."
I slept in my father's arms, dreaming of the day I would turn the heavens into my personal forge.