Chapter 640: The First Morning of Lumeria - A God King’s First Step
The night after the pyres burned felt endless.
By the time the first pale light touched the distant mountains, the air still smelled of smoke and wet ash. The crater where the abyssal monster had died was a black wound against the horizon. Silent, but Asmodeus could sense the faint gateway still lingering between their world and the abyss.
Asmodeus woke slowly.
’I’m going to die...’
The room wasn’t a grand palace but a simple soldier’s tent hastily cleaned and made livable. Bandages wrapped his ribs and shoulder where the abyssal tendrils had pierced him. Every movement ached as if someone yanked his bones. He wasn’t alone. Yumiko sat on the edge of the bed, golden hair damp, her eyes wrapped in dark rings from sleeplessness. She hadn’t even washed the dry fluids from their passionate night.
The other women came and went, but Yumiko stayed the night... as Serena would arrive in a few days.
"You’re finally awake, you’ve sleep so long," she breathed with a sense of relief.
He turned toward her, smiling at the beautiful woman who wore a simple cloth around her body. "You’ve been here all the time, Yumi?"
"Someone needed to make sure you kept breathing..." Her eyes narrowed as she snorted back at him. "You were too intense last night. We worried you overdid it."
Asmodeus could only give a bitter grin, his eyes turning to the cloth curtain.
Behind her, the sound of life returned to the camp.
Orcs and elves spoke in a language that seemed similar, but a little different from the elvish and orcish Asmodeus knew. Then came the clang of hammers on broken carts, and humans shouting about aid, food and where to go for medical treatment. No one was celebrating, but the sound was not despair, at least.
He smiled, enjoying the fact that everyone partied too hard.
"I’m going."
Asmodeus sat up slowly, wincing as his side pulled tight. Yumiko rushed to him, her hands lifting his shoulder, steadying him as their eyes met.
"Outside?" she asked.
He hesitated, then nodded.
"Let’s get dressed first, darling... I don’t want others seeing you like this."
Not long after changing their clothes, they stepped out into the ruined courtyard. Children ran between broken stones; knights leaned on shattered rocks. The orcs continued the training Asmodeus gave them, while a few stirred massive cauldrons of soup.
A patchwork of races, exhausted, wounded and limping, but everyone helped one another without command.
He closed his eyes while listening to the people, to his kingdom as it settled in and felt real.
Levia approached quietly, her usual armour replaced by a simple black dress. She looked at him with a rare softness and didn’t salute like when acting as a paladin. "Honey, you look tired. You too Yumiko. We’re starting the repairs soon, so you should both get something to eat and relax."
***
Asmodeus lingered at the edge of the ruined courtyard, Yumiko steady at his side and Levia close behind. Velvet, Alice, and Vinea soon joined them, each in simpler garb than he’d ever seen. They avoided luxury with simple cloaks and scorched leather pants, hair still unkempt from the night together.
Right now, he wasn’t meeting them as his wives, but as the generals and minds who bled for the creation of Lumeria and would guide it in the future.
One by one, the leaders from each kingdom and empire approached.
"Your Imperial Highness."
Duke Qwass, an old but proud noble, gave Asmodeus a polite greeting. His armour dented and patched with fresh straps, bowed with uncharacteristic solemnity. Yet that old rejection in his eyes vanished.
Now he looked at Asmodeus with awe.
King Avandar came next, walking with a cane and his broken crown tucked under one arm rather than on his head.
"I’m proud to greet my future son the Imperial Highness of Lumeria." The greetings were short, but Asmodeus treasured each of them, taking Avandar’s hand and ensuring he felt respected.
’He’s going to be my father-in-law...’
’I have to win him to my side; both of his daughters and his sister will become my wives!’
The elven empress and her consort followed, cloaks ash-stained, hands entwined. He understood her sharp glare and cold smile. If he didn’t treat her cute Ciela well, then she would punish him.
Like this, everyone important gathered.
No one had planned a council; it formed because everyone needed to speak, but to know what came next.
Avandar was the first to break the quiet. "God King Asmodeus," he said, the title still tasting strange but spoken with respect. "The war is over. The abyssal wound remains, but... our people look to you in this time of need. We can offer resources, but that gaping hole. I must beseech you to stand guard."
’So my father-in-law felt it too.’
He noticed Duke Qwass nodding while chewing a cheap apple with a grumble.
’That darkness which stirs beneath us.’
The elven empress glanced toward the smouldering crater and then to the drifting lantern smoke still clinging to the morning air. "We can provide troops, to ensure this gateway remains closed, but that cannot come freely, even to my dear daughter’s future husband."
’Damn...’
Even though he would be her son-in-law, this woman wouldn’t let it pass.
Ar’Sarina
The wise and powerful Elven Empress.
"Then we should discuss things in more detail afterwards, allow us to get over this moment, and I will leave things to Alice." Asmodeus watched as the eyes of the empress became sharper the moment he mentioned the former duchess of Grigor.
Asmodeus took a slow breath.
His body ached, but his voice when he spoke was clear.
"Yesterday, we stood apart and nearly died apart. Today we have the chance to stand as one and so in return for your nations providing soldiers to monitor the great ravine. I will reduce the cost of Mana Potions sold from our land."
Alice nodded to him with a smile and thumbs up.
He looked at Yumiko, then Levia, Velvet, and Vinea; each gave a faint, tired nod.
"I will not bow to all your desires and demands, but please put them forward and we can come to an agreement."
"Well then..." Avandar stood up with a crooked smile as if he’d been waiting for this.
The conversation shifted as more voices joined, pragmatic, tired but unafraid.
A scarred beastkin warlord raised a clawed hand. "Then it’s decided. We’ll leave warriors to guard the wound, but my clans must rebuild their dens. We’ll need timber and steel."
An orc matron snorted. "Timber we can give. Steel, we trade."
Duke Qwass cleared his throat, the gruffness returning. "We have foundries enough in Grigor. We’ll supply arms for the rift guard, but I want safe trade routes through your new lands."
Asmodeus listened to each, never rushing the talk.
Their lands carried ample steel, iron, and timber, thanks to the mana enrichment; trees grew five times faster than normal. The old him might have snapped, but now he let the tide flow, weighing each offer, each demand, and returning a clear, even answer.
"Timber and Steel will be traded with all members of the alliance at a fair price." He told the beastkin and orcs. "The route will be protected by the Demon Knights," he reassured Qwass and finally, "All those who enter my land must follow its rules."
It was not perfect diplomacy, but it was fair, and that fairness settled the room.
He could not become a perfect ruler in a day, nor did his current title, God King, settle in. But he started making progress and listened to those with more experience.
Finally, Ar’Sarina folded her arms and gave a slow, reluctant smile. "The elves accept... and about the dark elf refugees?"
"We will accept those willing to live by our rules and integrate fully."
She snorted, taking her husband away with a smile on her lips.
With their agreements finalised for the first round, the gathering slowly dissolved. Messengers hurried to spread the terms; wounded soldiers leaned on each other to return to tents. Hammers rang again as broken carts became stretchers, and smoke from the fires drifted across the scarred courtyard.
Asmodeus stayed where he was for a long while, watching the leaders depart one by one.
Avandar walked slowly with his cane, Duke Qwass barked orders to his men, and the beastkin warlord laughed despite fresh bandages. Even Ar’Sarina gave him a final glance that was almost approval.
The sky above looked pale gold in the sunrise, lantern ash settling into the ground like snow.
Asmodeus took a deep breath.
Yumiko slipped her hand into his. "It’s beginning, isn’t it?"
"It is," he murmured. His body still hurt with every breath, but the weight of the throne no longer felt unbearable.
Velvet stepped up on his other side, then Levia and Vinea, their presence quiet but certain. "We’ll build it together," Velvet said softly.
Asmodeus looked back once at the black crater, the wound that would need guarding for years, then he returned his gaze to the busy camp, to his people.
"Then let’s begin."
"Together." They all responded with delighted voices.