Starry Sky?
Let me read the map first.
No, no—got carried away there.
“......”
Luyi shook her head, then lifted it again.
Together with the reflection of the Star Devouring Demon Emperor, she gazed up at the starry sky.
It was an ancient, boundless sea of stars—vast, cold, magnificent, and dazzling. It made one feel the fleeting smallness of a lifetime.
But—
“I see... a longing in your eyes.”
The reflection of the Star Devouring Demon Emperor spoke.
Yes. Longing.
Before coming to this world, Luyi had gazed at the stars countless times, lost in endless fantasies.
She longed to reach out and touch them. To explore. To witness the beginning and end of all things. To understand the meaning of life and its desires...
Even after arriving here, the starry sky still captivated her.
She wanted to know why she’d come to this world. To comprehend and master the power of the Chaos Slaying Star Dragon. To step into the truth hidden within this realm...
All of it distilled into two simple, unchanging words:
Longing.
Longing to keep moving forward.
Longing to step into the starry expanse.
Longing to reach out and touch the first and final answers.
Luyi didn’t reply, but her silence seemed to confirm the Demon Emperor’s words.
“That’s why you uncovered the secret of the Stellar Abyss Pillar,” the Star Devouring Demon Emperor continued. “You’re not like those filthy, ignorant, foolish, and pitiful Abyssal Demons...”
“Is it truly fitting for a former Dark Emperor to speak so of his own race?” Luyi replied with a wry smile. The Demon Emperor’s arrogance was unmistakable.
Yet the reflection showed no anger. It only shook its head slowly.
Then, in a deep voice, it asked: “Young one, would you listen to a story?”
“I’d be honored.”
“Long ago, a prince was deeply cherished by the emperor for his extraordinary talent and wisdom. While his siblings struggled with their studies, he solved problems that stumped even the court’s greatest masters. As he grew older, he felt nothing in this world could challenge him.
Until one day, an anomaly in the starry sky made him look up.
It was the sight of an azure meteor tearing across the heavens.
The next day, ministers flattered the emperor, calling it an omen to conquer neighboring realms—a guaranteed victory. They presented their astrological readings.
But the prince sensed otherwise.
That night, he’d felt a power within that meteor.
A power utterly unlike the Abyssal Demon Realm’s—pure, profound, and overwhelming. It made him feel small, as if he stood in a narrow, muddy well.
‘What lies beyond the stars?’
For the first time, he asked the emperor and his ministers within the palace.
‘An omen.’
‘A refuge for dreamers fleeing reality.’
‘A place unchanging and unworthy of wasted thought.’
So they said.
It was a cold, distant place—visible to all, yet untouchable. It brought no change to their world.
Thus, it deserved no observation. No exploration.
Chasing it was meaningless.”
The Star Devouring Demon Emperor paused briefly, as if lost in memory.
“So the young prince abandoned his curiosity about the stars.
Soon after, the Abyssal Demons waged war on neighboring realms. He was forced into the conflict, with no time for idle thoughts.
Contrary to the astrologers’ predictions—
After long years of war, the Abyssal Demons lost.
The emperor fell battling the Sacred Dragon.
The Demon Race collapsed into chaos, torn by infighting without their leader’s unifying presence. The prince was dragged back into royal strife. His brilliance made him a target; nearly all sought his death.
By fortune—or fate—he survived. He became the last one standing.
Yet seated on the throne, watching ministers fawn and scheme, he felt no joy.
Ambition. War. Deceit. Prejudice.
He’d seen too much.
He saw refugees displaced by war.
He saw crowds driven mad by the Abyssal Demon Realm’s corrupting influence.
He saw his realm’s scars.
Its... ignorance and filth.
As Dark Emperor, his rule defied all who came before.
He ended the endless wars—even as his people branded him a coward.
None could dethrone him. His true power had reached terrifying heights.
Then he sought something else.
Things the Abyssal Demons ignored. Dismissed as meaningless.
He examined his soul: Why did the Demon Race exist? Why did they lose reason, spiraling into madness? What was his purpose in this world?
He looked up at the sky again. The feeling of being caged deepened. He’d never truly stepped among the stars, while his entire race wallowed in mud beneath the night sky, blind to their prison.
So he left society. In a wasteland, he built a lone tower. There, on its observatory, he began gazing at the stars.
The world called him idle. Ministers mocked him as weak. He didn’t care.
He followed his heart, chasing the resonance he’d felt with that meteor as a youth. He strained to grasp that fleeting trace of light.
He drowned himself in the stars... willing to abandon all hollow glory for them.
Until one day—
Space around the tower trembled violently. Even the distant imperial capital felt it.
Eerie energy lit up the night, visible to every Abyssal Demon.
A colossal hand appeared among the stars. Then it ripped through the sky.
He’d succeeded.
For the first time, he’d gathered his power to touch the stars.
He gained the pure, transcendent Star Power.”
“The rest,” the reflection continued, “is written in the Abyssal Demons’ histories—
They record only the Star Devouring Demon Emperor’s might and brilliance. The years of ridicule and scorn before it? Erased, as if they never existed.”
“He left behind the Stellar Abyss Pillar. History remembers the claw that tore the sky. Yet for a thousand years, no one followed his path here.”
“This is the fate of nearly all Abyssal Demons—born in mud, their minds content to stay trapped in narrow cocoons. Hardened by time, they grow dull and foolish, repeating the same mistakes generation after generation.”
“But their minds... should be vaster than the stars above—”
The reflection sighed, long and deep.
“......”
Luyi listened silently to the end.
This was the first half of the Star Devouring Demon Emperor’s life.
This Dark Emperor was fundamentally different from ordinary Abyssal Demons.
“This is what I wished to share,” the reflection said after a while, its gaze softening as it looked at Luyi. “I thought this legacy would never be found. Or if found, claimed by mere luck.
But seeing you... I’m at peace.
Your talent surpasses mine. Your longing burns brighter. You’re destined to walk farther than I ever did.”
“Here, I grant you the first half of the Stellar Legacy.”
It extended a hand toward the girl. The rune at its chest drifted toward Luyi as its form began fading.
“This is also a key—to unlock the final inheritance. Enter the Stellar Abyss Pillar, and you’ll claim everything my true self left behind.
But unlocking it means accepting the fate he left behind.
Of course... the choice is yours.”
Luyi grasped the rune.
Seeing this, the reflection smiled—with relief.
“Star Power transcends most forces. But until you’ve reached sufficient mastery, don’t delve too deep... for there lies true terror...
Though perhaps I worry needlessly. You likely can’t yet touch that realm...”
“Farewell, young one. I hope we meet again... at the core of the Stellar Abyss Pillar.”
The reflection vanished completely from the crystal space.
In that moment, a complete vision filled Luyi’s mind.
A flawless star chart unfolded before her, covering nearly half the sky above the Abyssal Demon Realm.
“......”
She seemed to see the Star Devouring Demon Emperor standing alone on his observatory for countless years. With faint starlight as his guide, he’d painstakingly mapped this chart, one stroke at a time.
“Thank you.”
She whispered softly to the empty observatory.
This star chart was invaluable to her now.
As for the final inheritance—the fate the Demon Emperor left behind—she hadn’t decided.
It wasn’t part of her current plans.
But when she found a worthy successor, she’d pass on this chart and legacy.
As for the “true terror” he mentioned...
She felt nothing of it yet.
......
Days passed, uneventful.
Stellar Abyss Academy officially opened its doors.
The enrollment ceremony began.
