CHAPTER 408: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS! II

"Requesting immediate reinforcements! Coordinates uploading now! The Five Kings of the Virgo Stellar Expanse have been eliminated by forces operating beyond our previous threat assessments!"

His eyes blazed with callous intelligence as strategic deception flowed through established channels, carrying with it implications that would alter the Sovereign Void Imperium’s understanding of local threat levels while providing him with the infiltration opportunity he required.

This was not the approach of a genocidal maniac who sought only destruction and chaos. This was precision planning that would allow him to identify specific targets while leaving entire civilizations untouched by conflicts they had no part in creating!

He would find those individually responsible for his family’s persecution. He would catalog their allies, their supporters, their willing collaborators. And then he would demonstrate what it truly meant to be called Taboo by powers that had forgotten why such names inspired terror.

They said he was Taboo? He would fucking show Taboo!

HUUM!

Achilles’ main body became wrapped in spatial light as he prepared to return to his family, leaving his infiltration avatar to continue the elaborate deception that would grant him access to cosmic hierarchies that believed themselves secure from retribution.

But before departing, he turned toward the massive Void-Born Thalassarian Sovereign that waited in patient silence.

"Attack me a little," the false Ashfall requested with casual authority.

The response was immediate and overwhelming.

BOOM!

One of the creature’s massive tentacles struck with force that could have shattered planetary cores, the impact sending the false Ashfall careening across hundreds of thousands of miles of empty space.

His enhanced physiology absorbed punishment that would have obliterated lesser beings, but the staged violence served its purpose...providing physical evidence of combat against overwhelming odds.

Achilles nearly cursed at the thoroughness of his creation’s response as he assessed his newly mangled form.

Blood flowed from wounds that appeared genuine, while his golden suit bore damage that spoke to desperate fighting against impossible opposition.

Perfect.

"Now let’s play a game where you chase me until the reinforcements arrive," he said with grim satisfaction.

The Void-Born Thalassarian Sovereign was already moving before he finished speaking, its moon-sized bulk accelerating toward him with predatory intent that required no explanation or justification. The chase that followed would provide exactly the kind of evidence that investigators expected to find when evaluating survivor accounts!

---

The expanding Sea of Thalassara welcomed Achilles back with currents that spoke to recognition and profound relief.

His main body materialized within the stellar waters with skin that gleamed with renewed vitality, the consumption of an entire star and its attendant forces having restored approximately sixty percent of the blood he had sacrificed to create his biological weapons.

"Father!"

Arya’s impact struck him with the force of stellar affection concentrated into a five-year-old frame, her small arms wrapping around his waist with desperate intensity that relayed fears she had been carrying during his absence.

His mind eased as he gathered her close, one hand stroking her silver-green hair while he studied her chubby features with gentle concern.

"You haven’t been using your Time Vision ability just to monitor my future, have you?" he asked with loving exasperation.

Arya’s eyes dropped with guilt that made her appear even younger than her apparent age. "I just want to make sure you’re safe," she whispered, her voice carrying notes of determination that belied her childish appearance. "If anything were to happen to you..."

She raised her small fist with courage that could have inspired many, her silver-green eyes blazing with inherited fury.

"Should anything happen to you, I need to do everything possible to prevent it, or avenge you and scorch entire star seas for revenge!"

Achilles shook his head at the casual way his daughter discussed destruction, while Rose approached with her own smile.

"You father and daughter are truly something else," Rose declared, emerald fire dancing around her form as she joined their embrace.

"Come now...if you have your Avatar handling other matters, perhaps we should enjoy the expansion of Thalassara? I also noticed the Monkey King and other Empyrean Star Nexus Transcendents beginning to venture beyond the plane to investigate what’s happening out here."

Achilles nodded as he pulled his family closer, his gaze drifting toward the eight massive Void-Born Thalassarian Sovereigns he had yet to deploy. Each one represented potential that required careful development, genetic sequences that demanded optimization before he attempted similar modifications on his own enhanced physiology.

There was indeed much to accomplish. But for this moment, surrounded by his family within the expanding dominion of stellar waters, he allowed himself the luxury of simple contentment.

Life was complex...but life was good!

---

Light-years away, in regions of space where reality itself bent around concentrations of predatory intelligence, the Kythernai Swarm moved through the void like a living constellation.

Millions of obsidian-purple forms flowed in perfect synchronization, their wings folding space around them as they followed current patterns that had been established across cosmic ages.

At their heart, the massive concentration of Voidborn Memorite crystals pulsed with accumulated knowledge that spanned geological epochs!

The Hive Queen floated at the center of this organized chaos, her beauty transcending species boundaries while embodying everything that made the Kythernai legendary among cosmic predators. Her compound eyes perceived across multiple dimensions simultaneously while her consciousness processed information flows that would have driven lesser beings to immediate madness.

But today, her attention focused on something that had not occupied her thoughts for millennia...the possibility of finding a suitable mate.

Around her, hundreds of massive humanoid commanders awaited direction with the patient stillness of beings who had learned to treasure every word their sovereign spoke. Their chitinous armor gleamed with accumulated battle honors while their enhanced physiology radiated power! Power!

"I have found my Destined Species Mate after all these years," the Hive Queen declared, her voice carrying waves that made the surrounding crystals ring with sympathetic vibrations. "Find him and bring him to me. This is his glorious face!"

The illusory image that materialized before the assembled commanders was perfect in every detail...Achilles’ features rendered with clarity that spoke to observation across impossible temporal and spatial barriers.

The response was immediate and absolute!

HUUM!

Hundreds of thousands of individual voices joined in a roar that carried across dimensional boundaries, millions of Kythernai suddenly possessed of singular purpose.

The hunt had begun!