Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

It was clear on the visage of the ladies that the news of Hal seemingly not making it out of the exploding tomb was incredibly upsetting and why would it not be?

Hal was their center.

He had become their home.

For Emily, he was more her family than the Antonov family she was born into.

Due to outsiders(Andrei, Jared, and Harold) being present, Lillian did not go into detail on what had happened within the tomb. She did not mention the tribulation or the presence she had felt from Hal when he rendered the Tribulation powerless.

"We could wait. He might be on his way. He could have been separated from you while you were both moving through the void" Andrei said, looking between his sister Emily and Lillian but Lillian shook her head with a sigh,

"M- Hal never entered the void. He never made it out of the tomb. We could wait but I doubt we will get anything out of it." she said.

"You can't mean that he's dead... Can you?" Karmen said as she tried to reach out to Hal through their connection but found herself unable to.

The connection was blocked.

Emily looked over at Lillian who shrugged without answering Karmen's question.

"He's not dead." Rita said suddenly and when the eyes of the ladies turned in her direction, she gave them pointed stares that jolted Karmen, Lillian, and Olivia out of the state of shock they were in because of the news.

Once out of that state, their brains could function much better and they could realize what Emily and Rita had realized already which was that if Hal was dead, the demonic bloodlines they had gotten from him as well as the contracts they had signed with him would be rendered null.

The fact that they could still access their demonic bloodline and that they could even attempt to contact Hal through their signed contracts with him was enough evidence that Hal was still alive.

He survived the explosion.

Where he was at the moment was just a mystery.

***

Hal had no idea where he was.

The moment he used his Dao against the Bloodline tribulation that sought his life, he felt a force, a primal force that he could not possibly hope to resist pull him away from the normal plane and into some sort of world-neutral dimension.

Sassy uncoiled from his arm to return to her humanoid form in preparation for fighting to defend her master.

Hal liked her quick reaction and readiness to fight for him but he had a feeling the danger she was instinctively reacting to was not the type to be fought against physically.

"I was worried this would happen" said a voice that took Hal by surprise but also definitely sounded familiar.

He looked to his side and there she was in all her dark-eyed imposing devilish glory.

Nihasa shook her head lightly while leaning back in her pitch-black throne that blended in with the black environment of the dimension they were in.

"You were worried WHAT would happen?" Hal asked and turned his body towards her.

Rather than reply immediately, Nihasa sighed and once again shook her head,

"I was worried you would attempt this.

I told you the Dao of Supremacy was the strongest Dao. That it was near perfection. That it is the Dao of the Primevals.

I told you that if you ever wished to attain my level, you would need to comprehend the Dao of Supremacy..."

"But you telling me to comprehend the Dao of Supremacy and then actually giving me a reason to do so i.e to attain your power and status would have made it difficult for me to comprehend supremacy." Hal interrupted.

"Maybe, maybe not. But from what I know of your personality, which is a considerable amount being that I am your mother, the sort of goals you have, only supremacy would do and if that is the case, difficult it might be and a long time it might take but eventually you would comprehend it.

Telling someone who is destined to be supreme that the Dao of Supremacy is the strongest Dao is not going to make them any less destined to be supreme.

It might take longer than it would if they discovered it for themselves but all in all, it is bound to happen eventually.

That is what I thought was in store for you.

I believed it was inevitable.

A lot of my plans were based on inevitability.

That is why I was worried that day.

I had just given you the secret to power and a possible ticket to the success of my plans and what did you say?" Nihasa paused to look at Hal pointedly,

Hal smirked,

"I said I would not be just one of the bunch..."

Nihasa nodded as she said,

"You said if the Dao of Supremacy was the strongest Dao, you would strive for something stronger.

That's what worried me.

I knew there was something above Supremacy and I knew it was impossible to achieve because 'No one can be Sovereign'."

Silence...

Hal eyed Nihasa for a good while before smiling lightly and walking towards her. He stopped once he was about three feet away from her,

"It's funny how narcissistic you can be. It's funny because I can see myself in you. I can see where I get that trait that I have never been shy about from... but having it bite me in the ass through you is a bit ironic, don't you think?"

With that, He walked even closer to Nihasa before grabbing the armrests of the throne she was sitting in.

Nihasa furrowed her beautiful brows and readjusted herself in her dark throne, as though to present a visage of being unbothered by Hal's words.

It looked to have worked because when she next spoke, her tone was natural and even a bit teasing,

"Whatever do you mean? What is this narcissism you speak of?" she asked.

Hal chuckled and leaned forward so that his face was barely an inch from hers as she said,

"This is MY problem. The fact that I am here in this space and about to go through possibly life-threatening tests is due to MY choices but you still found a way to make it all about you.

YOUR plans this, YOUR plans that.

Acting as though whatever happens to me now is any of your business" he said.

Nihasa smirked and snorted and her eyes focussed on his lips for a second before she reverted to staring into his sapphire blue eyes,

"You think whatever happens to you happens to you alone? You think I have no stake in your life. News Flash baby boy, I am your mother. You are mine. Serving me is simply you showing filial piety and not serving me is the lack thereof.

If anyone is being narcissistic right now, it's you"

Her words were met with another chuckle from Hal who leaned away from her but kept hold of the throne's armrest,

"I'm about to comprehend the Dao of Sovereignty..." Hal began but Nihasa interrupted,

"YOU are about to try."

Hal shook his head,

"No, I'm not 'trying'. I'm ABOUT to comprehend the Dao of Sovereignty and the only reason I haven't begun already is that you are here" he said.

Nihasa sighed and then spoke in a soft voice,

"Hal, listen..." she began but it was Hal's turn to interrupt her in a calm and firm voice,

"No, you listen to me, Mother. I'm not in this space to 'try' to be Sovereign because I already am. Any test I go through here is merely a formality and when it is over it will only be confirming what I already know to be true.

As for you, since I am never going to be supreme, why not tell what you had planned in case I attempted supremacy?"