Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

"Father," Creten said with a low bow.

His father the Emperor, Amador was seated on the large and intricate throne of the Haron Empire.

Just being in the throne room always had an effect on the prince and it was not just because the one sitting on the throne was the most powerful individual on the continent.

The main reason the room had such an effect on Creten was the throne his father was sitting on and the power, prestige, and authority that was guaranteed when legitimately seated on that throne.

Creten had long fantasized about how it would feel for him to seat on that throne and survey over all of the Haron Empire while commanding his forces to take control of the opposing continent as well.

There was a sort of symbolism in the fact that despite the destruction of various structures in the Imperial Palace, including buildings that had been around the throne room, the throne room itself had suffered no damage.

Unshakable just like their hegemony.

Being in the presence of the throne once again, being in the presence of the one who had always sat in it all his life, the one through which Creten had seen just what it meant to be an Emperor, the first prince could not help but fantasize once again.

Alas, his fantasizing had a sad edge to it on account of his recent failure in the Monument of Ordinances where he had failed to gain insight into an Abstract Ordinance.

Plus, his sister had been successful which instantly put her ahead of him in the running for Heir to the throne.

Now that he could not fully rely on his cultivation ingenuity, it was time to curry favor.

"What do you know?" Amador\'s bad mood shone through and shook Creten.

Creten had always had a fairly good relationship with his father and despite the disappointment of his failure in the monument of Ordinances, he knew their relationship was still the same. Not better but surely not worse.

He knew this bad mood was a spillover of the Emperor\'s reaction but knew that spillover could prove badly for him so he bowed lower...

"I met someone who used a similar portal to that of the Dystopians when I exited the Monument of Ordinances."

... And went straight to the point.

"What?" said the Emperor and the pressure he had been giving off reduced a good bit.

"When I exited the monument, there was a man with a mask on and he had a Serpent Demon beast with him. When he escaped, he used a portal similar to the one the Dystopians used." Creten said and the more he spoke, the more he realized he was assuming his father had not already known of that event.

The more he spoke, the more stupid Creten felt... Even if it was not a massive event his father considered important, there was no way the Emperor did not already know of the masked man and the giant serpent.

Sure enough,

"I know of that. It was among the reports I received. Mmm, I didn\'t consider it too important, and the only reason I spared it any thought was the smooth escape.

I thought it was with the use of the Ordinance of Space.

As for the serpent, taming Demon beasts is a crime but it is not too uncommon and it\'s a result of ineffective culling of the Infestation of Demon Beasts.

It was hardly an Empire-level matter but... To find similarities between the portal used by the masked man with the portal used by the attacking Dystopians is news.

That, I admit, I did not know"

Creten allowed himself a smile before deciding to proceed with his information-giving,

"Tanya fought the masked man the most and I dare say, I noticed, a familiarity of sorts between them," he said.

"Did you now?" said the Emperor and in a bid to get as much information as he could about this masked man and his portals of doom, he sent for Tanya.

As a Haron who had been a part of the battles with the Dystopians, there was no way Tanya would leave the palace for whatever reason at the moment.

She received her father\'s summon and was on her way to the throne room in seconds while making use of short-distance teleportation circles to traverse the distance.

She walked into the Throne room after being announced and she did not particularly like Creten\'s presence.

She bowed to her father,

"Your Majesty"

Amador acknowledged her show of respect before getting right to the reason he had summoned her,

"I hear you have experience with a fellow who made use of a portal very similar to the ones the Dystopians just used to invade and attack the palace."

Tanya looked from her father to her slightly smiling brother and nodded as she looked back to her father,

"Indeed I did. I believe that event was part of the reports you received following the whole experience with the Monument Of Ordinances." Tanya said.

"And you had familiarity with that masked fellow?" the Emperor asked.

"Ah, of course, he\'d say that," Tanya said and looked over at Creten who shrugged,

"Well you did," he said.

"No, I didn\'t you moron.

How would you know what you saw when you were feet away from it all thanks to me saving your ass?

I protected you against a masked fellow who would have killed you faster than you can say \'easily\'.

What you saw as familiarity was the intensity of the battle in which I came to realize that I was no match for him" Tanya said but she said the last part in a quiet tone of voice.

"You interfered. I had things well under control without you" Creten said.

The Emperor was silent and had his eyes on Tanya who stared right back while doing her best to appear transparent and not as though she were hiding something.

That was hard.

She was hiding something and she had no intention of telling anyone what that was at the moment.

Tanya was all about currying favor with her father but she did not see how saying what she knew would prove well and still wanted to keep a lot of her cards close.

This was also the reason she had not revealed to anyone not in her inner circle that she had found and taken control of the Nexus Stone.

Eventually, Amador leaned back on his throne,

"Okay then. Whatever detail you can provide about the masked man, his serpent and the portal is essential and I want a detailed report from you both.

The report I received on the matter was impersonal.

Also, I have decided that it is time I select my Heir"

That caused Creten\'s head to snap towards his father and the fact that the Emperor had said those words with such great implications while looking at his sister did not bode well for him.

"I felt it would be premature to select before and wished to give you all time to grow and it would appear my decision was right.

This is also the best moment to choose an Heir as I will need to bring my heir into a lot of close-quarters conversations and rally with them for the good of the Empire.

We are in dire times and are at quite a disadvantage and it is high time you all, not just my heir, receive more responsibility and work for the good of our family and our hegemony.

There is one that is clearly worthy of the throne when and should I pass... That one is you Tanya" Amador said and Tanya\'s eyes widened as her face began to glow with joy and satisfaction.

"It is my honor to be your heir, Father," she said and bowed even lower than before.

This was it. She has done it. She was the crown princess of the Haron Empire.

A part of her mind felt that this was not all that surprising and should have been expected but another, more respectful, part of her mind noted that her becoming heir was all reliant on her father\'s choice.

She noted that the fact she was clearly the best to everyone else did not mean she was clearly the best to her father.

"Father! This can\'t be" Creten said with urgency.

"And why not?" Amador asked and his tone sounded dangerous.

Creten gulped but continued,

"Tanya is not a clear better of me. The only thing she has to surpass me with is her Abstract Ordinance" he said.

"And that is not enough?" Tanya interrupted with a smirk.

"No, it\'s not. I can- I will gain insight into an Abstract Ordinance one day. Whenever the Monument returns, I will enter it and return with success and by that time I will have surpassed you tremendously in cultivation..." Creten said.

"That is... All hypothetical" Amador said.

"It\'s not hypothetical, it\'s impossible" Tanya said with a smug smile.

Amador took a deep breath,

"Tanya is my choice. If you wish to challenge my choice and force the stalling of my decision, then you must be ready to fight for that wish.

This will be settled at an Arena at noon tomorrow... That should be enough time to get prepared with whatever means of victory you could have at your disposal.

Tanya will champion my choice and Creten, you will challenge it."