Galaxy's First Ruler

How do the Dukes cover light-years' worth of distance in a matter of minutes?

When the spaceships use Jump Drive, where exactly are they jumping to?

What could be darker than the emptiness of space, but still not dark enough for it to be called Darkness?

When one says there is only nothing beyond the fabric of space, what does he mean by that?

Aren't the chaotic spatial winds a part of this region? And if they are, then how could one call it nothing, when it actually has something?

"Ahh! It's so confusing… Ugh!!"

The above line is the only thing mentioned as the answer to all these questions in the infamous book, MANA and RECORD: a philosophical theory.

None knew where the original scrolls written by the author were, or even if they had survived. Who had them, hoarding the treasure of knowledge and destruction. But many scholars had come to a shared understanding that the author must have written more beyond this line. If that part got lost in the river of time or was drowned intentionally, who knew?

The only thing left behind by the author was this line, in the last chapter of the book. This chapter, mentioning questions, and this line brimming with fatigue and exhaustion.

A chapter named…

VOID.

*

In this region, called Void, spatial winds eternally howled and myriad colored thunder roared as if mad about something.

Many spaceships, and occasionally Dreamers, used it to shorten up the impassable distances. But today, in their place, there was a piece of metal that had turned the entire place upside down.

Hurricanes of spatial winds, of the size of many solar systems, got annihilated just by this metal being passed by them. Countless bolts of lightning broke and unseen clouds disintegrated. Wherever this piece of metal passed by or through, it left behind a scene of incomparable destruction and massacre.

A massacre of elements themselves.

This piece of metal was just an ordinary iron. Even though there was no sign of rust on it, it didn't look as if it could handle one strike of a hammer. But the same 12-inch long iron piece was coursing through this region like butter.

If one were to calculate its probable destination, the result would be a red giant planet, Rosalia.

And the time it would take to reach there would be just a few seconds.

*

The Dukes were stationed in the Kingdom but it was also customary for them to scout the edges of the Kingdom routinely. Some things could bring harm to the Kingdom and even to the Galaxy which only they could perceive.

Such was the case for the Dukes, who had appeared in the space surrounding Planet Rosalia.

The Ancestral Spirits were among the few things that RECORD couldn't give as a part of Skill and Stats. Only the members of families to whom these spirits belonged could even qualify to get them.

These spirits weren't projections like the image of the Dream Origin World Tree, which didn't make anyone know about its presence. They were at the boundary of reality, eternally searching for a method to descend in the actual space.

Hence, the Dukes rushed when they sensed not one but two Ancestral Spirits which were on the bingo list of being annihilated on the spot. It wasn't even needed to be said that the Spirit Vritra was a telltale sign of the Hallowed Phantom, an organization on the hit list of all kingdoms and UGF. Whoever sighted it could attack the Dreamer and the Spirit if they had the power to do so.

But, the entire Galaxy from common people to Royal Families abhorred the Spirit Golden Luan. Regardless of its majestic presence, purity, and life attributes, all felt disgusted at mentioning its name. Not because it had done anything to them, but because of the family to which it belonged.

A family whose history had almost vanished from the Galaxy, and whose contributions had been erased from the records of UGF…

A Family called the Galactic Traitors.

These Spirits weren't the actual body of the Mythical Beings to which they belonged, like the Ancient Oracle and the Planet Rosalia. But one could still get many things out of them, things unknown to most Dreamers. That's why the first thing the Dukes did after coming was to blast these two Spirits, not caring for the destruction they could cause to the planet.

Nothing was important than annihilating a traitor and a terrorist together. All sacrifices would have a meaning or would be given a meaning later as seem fit.

RUMBLEEEEEE!!!

But the sudden shaking of the entire space around the planet took them off guard. It was like they were in a box and someone had just shaken the entire box vigorously. Before they could find out the reason for this shaking, everything went silent as the humongous spirits didn't even exist there.

The Golden Luan's claws were about to land on Vritra's head when.. this happened…

ROARRRRRRR!!!

This roar came out from nothing and echoed in everything. None could see the tiny image of a black bull charging at the Golden Luan, bellowing out of his lungs. But there wasn't any hate or rage in the Bull's glowing eyes. There was only reverence and utmost piety.

Those who could see, they saw. And those who could feel, they felt. They saw the entire golden sky had turned brown, like an upside-down turned world. And there were depthless valleys and mountains which, if real, were mind-numbing. They felt a chant in their hearts, calming enough, that they couldn't help but forgive themselves for the crimes they had committed a while ago.

But the most outrageously shocked were the few Dukes.

They were forced to see, and they were forced to feel, as the entire dark space above the planet got replaced by a foot. A naked foot, with dirt on its bare skin.

And when everyone thought this foot would end the world, it landed on the back of Golden Luan.