I Can Assimilate Everything-Chapter 217: Adrastia Imperium Vitae Ascension Codex IV

Unbelievable wasn't even a strong enough word to describe what was unfolding.

A cascade of events had erupted- events now under the scrutiny of countless beings within and around the Kingdom of Neon, every single one of them holding their breath.

It had begun with the rhythmic beating of an overwhelming heartbeat- a sound so massive and ancient it felt like it had come from the crumbling of the world itself.

And now…

The skies above Neon had dimmed. Not by clouds. Not by storm.

By sheer presence and aura!

Darkness blanketed the Kingdom of Neon, not like a sunset, but like the arrival of night.

Far beyond the capital's luminous borders, immense rings of Draconic Hybrids hovered in formation. Their wings cut swathes through the air. Their numbers multiplied with every pulse of energy emitted by Neon's floating form.

As the kingdom moved across the skies, it released shimmering Spores into the wind-threads of light and essence that cascaded downward, seeping into the scattered Evolutius Beasts that prowled the Cenotaph Wild Lands below.

And then, a transformation bloomed!

The beasts twisted. Warped. Their bodies lengthened, hardened, became scaled and fanged and winged. They roared toward the skies as they took flight, joining the ranks of Draconic Hybrids already circling Neon.

It was as if Neon itself was spreading a contagion of ascension.

Past these ever-growing rings of hybrids, the Phoenix Legion could be seen gliding in radiant formation. Under the command of Ayan, they had soared, burning bright. Leading them now was Seraphelle, the Draconic Eidolarch, her wings veined with radiant runes as she controlled these Dharma Manifestation Ancient Ones.

These were beings born in the Ancient Times, and yet they were now glancing around themselves in awe.

For around the Kingdom of Neon, nothing made sense!

They stared at the sky, which had become a stage for vibrant stellar rivers pouring like silk from the edges of space itself.

These rivers of starlight converged into a single gleaming stream, flowing downward directly into the city that hovered at the kingdom's center.

"He… this is how he absorbs star light as an Astral Core Ascension being?!"

A Sky Dharma King Phoenix spoke, its voice cracking beneath the strain of fear. Its wings trembled.

Seraphelle was silent as she almost wanted to tell them...King Primal was not even an Astral Core Ascension being.

So how the hell was he even absorbing star light?!

And this…this was not the gentle gathering of star light they associated with Astral Core Ascension beings.

This was a torrent.

A catastrophic flood of force that warped the very air and earth.

They were relieved and blessed that they had not defied this being when his Queen had warned them. Now, they could only wait, eyes wide, hoping even a sliver of this transcendent light would touch them, bestow them with the purified Lineages she had promised.

So they watched, and waited.

As did thousands of others.

All eyes locked upon the floating citadel, where the river of stars continued to pour inward without end.

—

High above the Kingdom of Neon, atop the Primal Neon Tower, Achilles stood motionless.

The starlight did not merely fall into him, it flowed through his blood.

His path, unlike the common route of Astral Core Ascension, was singularly unique.

The beginning point of the Adrastia Emperor King's Lineage was actually similar to the Luminblood Stage, and yet Achilles had come to understand his stage in a way others could not.

This was not about absorbing starlight into the flesh.

This was about refining the blood itself.

Every droplet of his blood was undergoing transmutation—being burned clean and made unfathomably glorious through the radiance of the stars.

A process inherited from the First Adrastia Emperor King.

If he succeeded, he would rise from the unranked Zero Stage into the next echelon…

Imperial Embers Initiation.

And when he looked at his personal panel…

Progress to Next Stage: 0.009% – Imperial Embers Initiation

"…."

The number crept upward at a glacial pace. Not the work of hours.

This was the beginning of a lifelong refinement!

And yet as the starlight continued to surge into him, Achilles noticed something else- a ripple across the deeper layers of his being.

Within him existed vast seas.

Seas of Assimilations.

Over time, he had absorbed so much, and it all fused into those oceans that churned inside him, each one threatening to eclipse his own existence. It was why his Existence Corruption had grown.

He was tiny.

They were vast.

But now…

BZZZT!

The seas began to retract.

To compress.

Their massive expanses, once wild and unchecked, began to contract and condense.

They no longer dwarfed him as they were becoming scaled to his essence ever so slowly!

Now, when he assimilated beings, the rise in Existence Corruption would be marginal.

The refinement was integrating them into him fully.

The seas weren't just being made smaller.

They were being absorbed and fused into his own nature.

And Achilles could feel it.

He was growing stronger even though he was not actively assimilating anything!

Now he understood his grandfather's disappointment. That he couldn't even assimilate a single Phoenix feather.

But with the Adrastia Imperium Vitae Ascension Codex, all that had changed.

Existence Corruption? Nearly nullified!

Power from assimilations? Vastly increased!

His heart buzzed as he also turned his awareness further inward.

And he saw another point of wonder.

A blue light.

From a crystal.

Heart-shaped.

It shimmered and pulsed like it contained an entire ocean as Achilles recognized it immediately.

The Heart of Thalassara.

The same heart that once housed the Adrastia Codex.

The treasure his grandfather had called the greatest gift.

He focused on it.

And reached out.

And…

CRACK!

The gem shattered as if it was just waiting for his consciousness to wrap around it.

Blinding blue light surged into him.

But the bloodline refinement caught it and held it in place.

Yet even so, the change was instantaneous.

This was the true Heart of Thalassara.

His grandfather had once told him…

[It holds the grief, joy, and wisdom of a drowned empire and its billions… and if you truly listen, it will speak. It shows what was, and what might still be…]

HUUM!

And it spoke.

It wept!

BOOM!

A wave of blue light burst from Achilles, washing over the Primal Neon Tower.

Before him, an illusory blue heart appeared- translucent and vast.

And from it…

Rings of water.

Endless. Surging. Cerulean.

They cascaded in all directions, flooding the tower and rolling across the land like tidal echoes of ancient oceans.

The Kingdom of Neon began to flash with blue radiance!

A sea-ring of memory and majesty bloomed from its center.

And it had all come…from a single Heart.

The Heart of Thalassara that should not even exist as it stemmed from a Dream!