Banquet of Ascendants

 The banquet hall of the Ascendant Protocol shimmered like a celestial dream—crystal chandeliers pulsed with bio-luminescent light, silver-clad attendants moved like synchronized starlight, and the air was thick with the scent of power, incense, and impending drama.

Ra entered like a solar flare with legs, draped in a curve-hugging obsidian dress that threatened interstellar peace all on its own. Her golden eyes scanned the room until they landed on the brooding figure at the far end—Mehen, the Serpent God, coiled in tailored midnight armor, sipping something far too dangerous to be wine. His gaze seared across the distance, an unspoken promise and a threat rolled into one.

But Ra wasn’t here for obedience. Not tonight.

"You're late," a velvet voice teased beside her.

She turned—Lion Roch. Galactic royalty incarnate, dressed in a white suit so fine it could start a holy war. His mane of burnished gold shimmered under the lights, and his smile? Weapon-grade.

"Fashionably," she replied with a smirk. "You know I make an entrance."

"You made the room pause. I think even Mehen stopped breathing."

Ra chuckled. "He doesn’t breathe, he simmers."

Lion offered his arm, which she took, because what was the point of having intergalactic options if you didn’t make the galaxy jealous?

They strolled through the banquet like chaos wrapped in silk. Every eye turned, every whisper hissed her name. And Mehen? His golden irises tracked her like a predator who just spotted his prey dancing with another hunter.

As they approached the high table, Mehen stood slowly, a barely contained storm behind regal eyes. "Lion. Ra."

Ra smiled sweetly. "Mehen. Enjoying your throne, or just polishing it for someone else?"

Lion didn’t miss a beat. "Careful, my King. You might drop your crown while staring."

The silence that followed could've cracked a planet in half. Ra sipped her stardust cocktail and turned to Lion with a knowing tilt of her head.

"Walk me to the platform?"

"With pleasure, starlight."

Behind them, Mehen’s jaw clenched. Sovereign, ever-present and wrapped in shadows nearby, took one calculating step forward.

"His pulse just spiked," Sovereign murmured through Ra’s commlink. "You might want to prepare for planetary-level pettiness."

Ra grinned. "Let the games begin."

On the platform, speeches were made, scrolls signed, and 500 new Ascendants rose in unison like a wave of divine potential. But none of them noticed the firestorm brewing between a Lion, a Serpent, and the woman prophecy couldn’t handle.

As applause thundered, Lion leaned in, his breath warm at Ra’s ear. "You feel it too, don’t you?"

She didn’t answer with words. Her gaze locked with his, her breath caught.

"I remember things," he whispered. "Things you wiped. Things he erased. I remember you."

She turned fully, heart thudding. "Lion—"

He lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a slow, reverent kiss to her palm.

Mehen stood abruptly.

The crowd fell silent.

Sovereign materialized behind Ra, voice cool but edged with warning. "He's about to act."

"Let him," Ra said softly, her gaze still locked on Lion. "It’s been a long time since we danced with chaos."

Mehen’s voice cut through the silence like lightning. "This celebration is over."

Lion didn’t flinch. Ra didn’t blink. And the Ascendants? They witnessed the beginning of a war not even the stars saw coming.

Behind Ra, Sovereign’s eyes flickered with forbidden emotions.

"Protocol breached," he muttered.

But inside, something else stirred. Something human. Something dangerous.

Ra stepped forward, fire in her veins, prophecy be damned.

"You don’t own me, Mehen."

Mehen’s lips curled. "I created the throne you stand on."

Ra raised her chin. "Then maybe it’s time someone burned it down."

The air buzzed with tension. A cosmic dare.

And the universe? It held its breath.

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