Conquering Planets: Rise of the Cosmic Tyrant-Chapter 31: edit

On the twenty-ninth day, the gate finally opened.

Lucas stepped forward slowly, his body covered in deep, jagged wounds, and the torn edges of his clothes clung to his body, stained with blood. Every movement sent shocks of agony through his body. His muscles screamed, his bones ached, and his vision wavered between focus and disorientation. Despite all of this, there was one thing that remained constant: his feet did not retreat. He did not fall.

He had survived.

And in survival, something had changed. Something deeper than his physical body had altered within him. His chest burned with a raw feeling of growth, of evolution. But the cost was steep. Every breath felt heavier.

As he limped forward, he slowly raised his head and saw the royal hall before him. The architecture was nothing like he had imagined: an endless expanse of polished black stone, columns stretching impossibly high, and flickering light from strange torches casting ethereal shadows across the floor. It seemed alive, pulsating with energy, as if the very air here carried ancient secrets.

At the highest point of the hall, on a massive black agate throne, sat Siman’s father. The weight of his presence immediately affected Lucas, pressing down on him, making the air feel denser, more oppressive. The man’s long black hair cascaded over his broad shoulders like threads of night. His eyes, the deepest black, gleamed with a cold, uncompromising gaze.

The throne hall was silent, save for the soft whispers of energy surrounding them. But it was a heavy silence, the kind that pressed down on Lucas’s chest, making every breath feel strained.

Siman’s father leaned slightly forward, narrowing his eyes. His voice was low, measured, and unsettlingly calm.

"Is this your evolution?" he asked.

The words hung in the air. The coldness in his voice was not mere indifference; there was quiet contempt. No smile. No approval. No warmth.

Lucas paused. His breathing shallow, but he did not flinch. His gaze remained locked with the older man’s, steady, but he did not lower his head. He did not need to prove anything to Siman’s father. It had never been that way.

He had passed through hell and emerged stronger, whether they saw it or not, whether they recognized it or not. He had survived the trials. And that was enough.

The silence stretched on, long and heavy. But just as Lucas was preparing to speak—or perhaps simply to stand in that silence a bit longer—soft footsteps broke the stillness.

From a side corridor, Siman appeared. His presence was a breath of fresh air compared to the oppressive aura of his father. The younger man’s black hair was short, untamed, but his eyes were as deep and dark as his father’s. Yet there was warmth in them.

By his side, Darleen walked, her movements mechanical, almost robotic. Her long red hair trailed behind her, but her expression was cold, distant. There was something unsettling about her, the way she moved, as if every action was calculated, deliberate. Behind them, Andre followed in silence, his arms crossed, his yellow hair glowing in the light like an ethereal halo. His expression unreadable, but his presence was as commanding as ever.

Siman looked at Lucas, studying the bloodied, battered form before him. His eyes softened for a moment, silently analyzing Lucas, as though searching for something neither of them had spoken about. Then, in a gentler voice, tinged with concern, he spoke.

"You’ve changed..." Siman said quietly, "but it seems my father doesn’t see it."

Lucas didn’t answer immediately. He couldn’t. There was a strange spark burning inside him, a pain that wasn’t physical.

A desire to prove himself. Not to Siman. Not to his father. But to himself. To finally show that he was no longer the same boy who had entered this palace weeks ago, broken and weak. He was no longer the same boy who had nearly died countless times in the trials, each failure pushing him closer to the abyss.

He met Siman’s gaze with quiet resolve.

Siman gave him a look, as though he sensed something unspoken between them, but Lucas only shook his head, a barely noticeable movement. He didn’t need to say it out loud. Siman understood.

The tension remained in the air, but Lucas remained unmoving. The fire in his chest was calm now, but it was there, glowing, ready to ignite at any moment.

Siman turned to look at his father, the older man still seated on his high throne, his eyes fixed on Lucas. His expression remained inscrutable.

Chapter 49: "The Surge of Power"

Inside the royal palace hall, the air was thick with tension. In the center of it all, Siman’s father sat on his obsidian throne, perched with dignity, his expression calm, his eyes flashing briefly to Lucas before returning to the group with quiet authority.

"Well..." His voice rang out in the room, clear and strong. "Let’s see what you can do."

Siman’s father continued, "Open your system... and evolve Andre and Darleen. Since Siman has had them hunting monsters in the dungeons of the main world."

Lucas blinked, as if a sudden realization struck him. "Ah... right. I completely forgot about that."

Siman chuckled softly, a light sound, almost mocking, filling the hall. "You’ll be surprised by what you see. I haven’t allowed them to sleep for 28 days. They’ve been fighting nonstop."

Lucas couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. He was used to seeing growth in his allies, but this... With a steady breath, he nodded, focusing his attention inward. He opened his system interface.

Immediately, his eyes were flooded with numerous notifications, each containing details about Andre and Darleen’s progress. It was overwhelming. Hundreds of them. Each message indicating the development points they had gained from killing monsters over the past month. Their growth had been relentless, unforgiving.

First, he opened Andre’s status window, his eyes widening in shock. The numbers on the screen didn’t seem real.

Name: Andre

Available Points: 1687

Strength: 164

Speed: 31

Mana: 104

"Hah?!" Lucas sighed, unable to contain his surprise. "One thousand six hundred eighty-seven?! How?!"

He quickly turned to Siman. "What did you do to them?!"

Siman, leaning against a pillar, let out a light laugh, almost a small chuckle, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Hmm... nothing really. I just had them kill monsters... day and night."

Lucas looked back at the numbers, his mind spinning. "With these points... Andre could easily reach rank S... maybe even SS."

Siman’s father raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, his gaze remaining fixed on Lucas. "SS rank... in just 28 days?"

Lucas smiled. "Seems that way."

Siman stepped forward, his tone laced with pride. "See, Father? I told you Lucas is a powerful ally. Even I, Siman, Lord of Chaos, reached SS rank after 47 years of brutal training... with the help of my system and skills."

Lucas nodded, still reviewing the data on the screen. His mind was racing, not only with the initial numbers but with a deeper understanding of the system. He knew he was powerful, but now, he saw it with all his strength.

He paused for a moment, contemplating the implications. "It seems they... have started to fear me," Lucas whispered, quieter than before. "Not just me... even my followers are evolving at a terrifying pace."

Siman’s father remained silent, his expression unreadable as always. He simply watched, saying nothing.

Then Lucas opened Darleen’s status window. Part of him wasn’t sure what to expect. Darleen had always been a healer, her skills focused on restoration rather than destruction. But when the screen appeared, he held his breath.

Name: Darleen 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Points: 1288

Strength: 72

Speed: 47

Mana: 257

"Darleen?" Lucas whispered in astonishment. "She was just a healer... and she was only rank B!" His eyes shifted to Siman, a small smile tugging at his lips. "She’ll reach rank S as well."

Siman’s expression shifted slightly, pride showing through for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded. "I knew she had potential. It just took the right environment to bring it out."

Lucas looked at the points, his calculations nearly surpassing his comprehension. "With these points, she’ll be a massive force soon."

He raised his head and looked at Siman’s father. "Well... it’s time for evolution."

Siman’s father’s expression remained unchanged. He didn’t say anything, only nodding slightly, while his hand tightened around the arms of the throne. The air around them seemed to shift, heavy with the anticipation of what was to come.

Lucas thought quickly.

I must be strategic about this.

"Since investing mana unlocks great skills..." he murmured to himself, "I’ll put half the points into mana."

He opened Andre’s window again, his fingers moving across the screen.

Name: Andre

Points: 1687

Strength: 164

Speed: 31

Mana: 104

He distributed the points carefully.

"900 into mana," he murmured as his finger moved over the numbers. "600 into strength... 187 into speed."

He pressed Confirm.

Suddenly, a massive surge of energy erupted from Andre’s body. The air seemed to bend and distort, and the walls themselves shook under the force. A violent explosion of energy blasted outward, sending ripples across the ground. The barrier Siman had placed around Andre shattered, as the transformation’s power was too much even for the protective shield.

Andre screamed, overwhelmed by the energy flooding his body. His golden eyes glowed fiercely, almost seeming to burn everything around him. His blonde hair cracked with raw power, each strand shimmering with golden light.

Siman’s father rose from his throne, his eyes cold and calculating. With a swift movement, he raised his hands, forming a larger, transparent black barrier around Andre. The barrier pulsed with dark energy, absorbing the shocks and containing the chaos that surged through Andre.

But even with the barrier, the power was undeniable. The ground cracked beneath them, and the walls seemed to groan under the pressure of Andre’s newfound strength.

Siman’s eyes widened as he watched Andre transform before him, his gaze flicking between Andre and Lucas. "What did you do to him?!"

Lucas smiled lightly, his voice steady and calm. "I gave him the power to evolve."

Siman’s father continued to watch, saying nothing. His gaze was fixed on Andre, studying the raw potential now coursing through his body. It was clear that he had underestimated Lucas. And the fact that Andre, once just a simple warrior, was now on the verge of reaching rank S in a single transformation was nothing short of astounding.