CHAPTER 75: The Grand Assembly and the Unmasking of the Sun
(ARC 5: THE CENTENNIAL ASSEMBLY & THE CENTRAL GALACTIC EMPIRE)
The Grand Sovereign Colosseum of Aethelgard was a colossal structure carved from single-block star-titanium, capable of seating ten million representatives from ten thousand star systems. Floating at the center of the arena were seven towering obsidian platforms reserved exclusively for the Seven Primordial Clans, with the Solari Dynasty occupying the central throne of authority.
The grand arena buzzed with the deafening chatter of warlords, sect masters, and galactic envoys discussing the mysterious outer-rim realm that had broken the Iron Gate.
"Announcing... the Sovereign Clan of Sector 7!" the imperial herald’s voice resonated through the spatial arrays.
"HOUSE STERLING!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The golden-and-azure spatial atmosphere above the arena tore open!
A hundred-mile carpet woven from pure, liquid golden spatial Qi unfurled through the air, extending from the sky directly down to the central floor! Walking side-by-side down the floating golden pathway were Gabriel and Evelyn.
Gabriel wore an immaculate dark dragon-silk coat embroidered with shimmering golden spatial runes, his dark golden dragon pupils glowing with serene, effortless majesty. Beside him, Evelyn looked breathtakingly regal in a gown of woven starlight and ice-blue silk, her presence radiating a calm, queenly grace that captivated the entire colosseum.
Behind them walked Ethan and Elena, clad in dark navy-and-gold imperial guard attire. Ethan carried his wooden spear shaft with relaxed, absolute confidence, while Elena’s azure blade rested quietly at her waist. Flanking them were twenty dragon-scale armored guards from the Pentagon Vanguard, stepping in flawless, iron-tight synchronization.
The entire colosseum fell into a breathless, stunned silence!
"Look at their aura..." a Primordial Elder from the Star-Crystal Clan whispered, his glowing blue eyes wide in shock. "The Sovereign Master carries Peak Void authority... and his wife and children possess unblemished, divine physiques!"
"They don't look like outer-rim commoners at all... they look like ancient cosmic royalty!"
Gabriel and Evelyn led their party onto the elevated central platform reserved for Sovereign Factions.
High atop the central throne platform, Patriarch Solari—a majestic, nine-foot-tall elder clad in blinding solar armor, whose body burned with Late-Stage Void Sovereign energy—stood up slowly. His face was twisted into a cold, contemptuous sneer as he looked down at Gabriel.
Beside him sat his son, Young Master Solon, still pale and trembling from his encounter in the courtyard the previous night.
"Gabriel Sterling!" Patriarch Solari’s voice boomed across the colosseum like crashing thunder, amplified by the arena's resonance arrays. "You dare step into the Centennial Assembly after injuring Solari guards at the Iron Gate and assaulting my son?!"
The ten million attendees held their breath, expecting Gabriel to offer excuses or bow under the heavy pressure of the Primordial Chair.
Patriarch Solari raised a glowing golden scroll, his voice dripping with malice. "By authority of the Primordial Council, I declare House Sterling's realm ascension invalid! Five hundred years ago, your world was classified as a low-tier livestock realm under the direct jurisdiction of the Solari Dynasty! You are rebellious commoners who have stolen imperial resources!"
A collective gasp echoed through the stands!
Gabriel stopped at the center of the platform. He didn't raise his voice. He simply wrapped his arm securely around Evelyn’s waist, looking up at Patriarch Solari with a quiet, emperor-level smile.
"Five hundred years ago," Gabriel’s deep, calm voice echoed directly inside the minds of all ten million attendees across the colosseum, "your Solari Dynasty deployed thirty-two toxic Dungeon Anchors to poison our planet's spirit veins and suppress our people."
Gabriel raised his left hand, snapping his fingers softly.
FLASH!
A massive, three-hundred-foot holographic projection ignited above the center of the colosseum, displaying the decrypted ancient logs recovered from the Vorathian Flagship and the Northern Warlord's core ledger!
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ARCHIVAL DECRYPTION — SOLARI/VORATHIAN COVENANT │
├───────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ RECORDED DATE │ 500 Years Prior (Galactic Era 14,200) │
├───────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ CONTRACT TERMS │ Solari Dynasty suppresses native human spirit │
│ │ veins via Dungeon Anchors; Vorathian Fleet pays │
│ │ 40% of harvested human core energy as annual bribe│
└───────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The entire colosseum erupted into chaos!
"The Solari Dynasty conspired with alien harvesters to suppress a human realm for five centuries?!"
"They took bribes from the Vorathian Empire?!"
"This is a direct violation of the Galactic Sovereign Charter!"
Patriarch Solari’s face turned from golden to a terrifying, deathly ash! "LIES! FALSE DATA FORGED BY AN OUTER-RIM MONSTER!"
"Is it a lie, Patriarch?" Evelyn spoke softly, her clear, elegant voice cutting through the roaring crowd with cool precision. "The energy signatures on these covenants bear your clan's private solar seal. Will you claim your own seal is a forgery before the entire galaxy?"
Ethan stepped forward, resting his wooden spear shaft over his broad shoulder, his dark eyes burning with a scorching golden dragon heat. "You called us cattle for five hundred years, old man. Today, the cattle came to collect."
Patriarch Solari roared in utter, frantic desperation, igniting his entire solar domain into a roaring inferno of crimson plasma! "DIE, UNGRATEFUL COMMONERS!"
He leaped from his high throne, plunging down toward Gabriel with his massive solar broadsword!
Gabriel didn't even move his feet. He kept his arm wrapped around Evelyn, raising a single finger toward the sky.
SOVEREIGN REALM — SPATIAL COMPRESSION!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The massive, ten-thousand-degree solar broadsword struck an invisible spatial wall an inch above Gabriel's finger and shattered into a million golden shards!
In the same microsecond, Gabriel tapped Patriarch Solari's chest plate with his fingertip.
BANG!
The nine-foot Solari Patriarch was launched ten miles across the colosseum, slamming into the titanium outer wall, his solar armor shattered into dust, his energy core neutralized completely!
Gabriel lowered his hand, his dark golden dragon pupils glowing with absolute, cosmic dominance as he looked over the stunned, trembling leaders of the remaining six Primordial Clans.
"The Solari Dynasty is stripped of its seat," Gabriel declared calmly, his voice echoing across the silent galaxy.
"House Sterling takes the chair."