Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner - Chapter 416

Chapter 416: The Queens decide

The Queen stared at Noah for a long moment, her emerald eyes reflecting the chaos erupting around them. Above ground, Lilivil’s massive footsteps were getting closer, each one sending tremors through the underground cavern that made dust rain from the carved ceiling.

“You’re asking me to gather corpses,” she said slowly, her voice carrying across the assembled masses of her people. “You want me to tell my subjects to bring you their recently dead so you can… absorb energy from them?”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd of elves like water. Noah could hear fragments of conversation in their local language, the tone universally shocked and horrified. Several voices rose above the others, clearly angry, and he didn’t need a translator to understand the general sentiment.

“Your Majesty,” Noah said urgently, another tremor shaking the cavern as he spoke, “I know how it sounds. But it’s the only way to generate enough void energy to transport everyone to safety. The alternative is—”

“The alternative is trusting the word of humans,” came a sharp voice from behind the Queen.

Noah turned to see the elf who had led their original capture approaching through the crowd. She moved with the same fluid grace as the others, but there was something different about her bearing—more authority, more familiarity with the Queen than he’d initially noticed.

“Captain Seraleth,” the Queen said, and Noah caught the note of warning in her voice.

“Mother,” Seraleth replied, and Noah felt his stomach drop as he realized the family connection he’d missed earlier.

Captain Seraleth was taller than most of the other elves, with the same sharp features and white hair as the Queen, though hers was bound in an elaborate braid that spoke of military rank. Her armor was more sophisticated than what the other guards wore, with intricate patterns that looked functional rather than decorative.

“Mother, you cannot seriously be considering this proposal,” Seraleth continued, her voice carrying easily through the cavern despite its size. “These humans arrive on our world, defile the forbidden structure, and now they want us to desecrate our dead for their convenience?”

More murmurs swept through the assembled elves, and Noah could see heads nodding in agreement. The Captain’s words were resonating with the crowd in ways that made him increasingly uncomfortable.

“Captain,” Noah said, trying to keep his voice calm and reasonable, “I understand your concerns. But the facility we destroyed was causing Lilivil pain. We were trying to help—”

“Were you?” Seraleth stepped closer, her hand resting on the hilt of her curved blade. “Or were you simply cleaning up after your own species’ mistakes? Because from where I stand, it looks like humans built that facility, humans conducted those experiments, and humans are responsible for awakening the sleeping god beneath our feet.”

“That’s not—” Lucas began, but Seraleth cut him off with a gesture.

“Males may speak when addressed,” she said coldly. “You were not addressed.”

Sophie stepped forward, completely ignoring the weapons that immediately focused on her. “Listen, your people have been living with the consequences of trusting the wrong human for over a century. I get that. But right now, your choice is between trusting us or watching everyone die when that thing up there gets tired of being gentle.”

“Females do not—” one of the guards began.

“Oh, stuff it,” Diana interrupted, her patience finally snapping. “Your cultural protocols are going to get everyone killed. We don’t have time for this sexist bullshit.”

The reaction was immediate. Every weapon in the cavern turned toward the human women, and Noah could feel the tension ratcheting up toward violence.

“Enough!” the Queen’s voice cut through the growing chaos, her authority reasserting itself. “We will not descend into conflict while our world crumbles around us.”

She turned to Noah, studying him with those shifting green-gold eyes. “Explain to me exactly how this process would work. You absorb energy from the dead, then use it to transport the living to this… Domain of yours?”

“That’s correct,” Noah confirmed. “The Domain is a pocket dimension. It’s safe, stable, and large enough to house everyone comfortably while we figure out our next move.”

“And after we’re in this Domain?”

“My team and I use Domain Link to travel somewhere safe. Another planet, a space station, anywhere with the infrastructure to support two million people until we can establish a more permanent solution.”

Captain Seraleth laughed, but the sound carried no humor. “Mother, surely you can see the flaws in this plan. We would be completely dependent on his goodwill. Trapped in a space he controls, relying on his promises to relocate us.” Her voice grew sharper. “What’s to stop him from simply keeping us as prisoners? Or worse, experimenting on us like his predecessor did?”

The murmurs from the crowd grew louder, more agitated. Noah could see doubt spreading through the assembled elves like a contagion.

“Your daughter has a point,” Uncle Dom said conversationally, apparently oblivious to the rising tension. “From a strategic perspective, the proposal does require an extraordinary level of trust.”

“Uncle Dom, you’re not helping,” Lucas muttered.

“I’m simply observing that skepticism is a reasonable response to unprecedented circumstances,” Dom replied cheerfully.

Another massive tremor shook the cavern, this one strong enough to crack several of the support pillars. Sections of the carved ceiling began to collapse, forcing clusters of elves to move toward the center of the chamber.

“We’re running out of time,” Lucy said urgently. “Whatever decision we’re making, we need to make it now.”

The Queen looked around at her people, then back at Noah. “There might be another option,” she said slowly. “But it would require… difficult choices.”

“What kind of option?” Noah asked.

“Our reproduction system,” the Queen said, her voice taking on a clinical tone that didn’t quite hide her emotional discomfort. “You’ve wondered how our species maintains population with no males. The process is… unique.”

She gestured toward a section of the cavern Noah hadn’t noticed before, where subtle doorways had been carved into the rock face. “We reproduce through what you might call guided cellular division. Each female, upon reaching maturity, can donate a portion of her life energy to create what we call Halflings—genetic duplicates with slight differentiation.”

Captain Seraleth’s face went pale. “Mother, you cannot be suggesting—”

“The process takes place in incubation chambers,” the Queen continued, her voice becoming stronger as she committed to the explanation. “Specialized pods where the developing Halflings mature over approximately twenty years. The energy required comes from the donor, reducing her lifespan but ensuring species continuation.”

Kelvin’s grasped his cheeks as his analytical mind processed this information. “So you’re talking about… cloning? But with biological rather than technological methods?”

“It’s more complex than simple cloning,” the Queen replied. “The differentiation process introduces variations—different personalities, slightly altered physical characteristics, even variations in ability strength. But yes, fundamentally, each Halfling is a biological daughter created from the donor’s genetic template.”

The implications hit Noah like a physical blow. “You’re talking about using the immature Halflings as… as sources for the entropy absorption.”

“They haven’t achieved consciousness yet,” the Queen said, but her voice wavered. “The early stages of development, the first five to ten years of incubation, the neural networks aren’t sufficiently developed for awareness. They’re essentially… biological potential.”

“They’re babies!” Kelvin exploded, his usual humor completely absent. “You’re talking about sacrificing babies!”

“Halflings that haven’t reached consciousness,” the Queen corrected, but she looked sick even saying it.

“That’s a distinction without a difference,” Diana said sharply. “They’re still developing life forms. They’re still your children, effectively.”

The cavern erupted in heated debate as the elves processed their Queen’s suggestion. Some voices supported the idea as a necessary sacrifice, others condemned it as unthinkable. Captain Seraleth was leading the opposition, her voice rising above the others as she argued passionately against the proposal.

“Mother, these are our daughters! Our future! How can you even consider—”

“Because the alternative is losing everyone!” the Queen snapped back, her composure finally cracking under the weight of impossible choices. “If we do nothing, every elf in this cavern dies when Lilivil brings the ceiling down on our heads!”

Sophie moved closer to Noah, her voice low enough that only he could hear. “Noah, this is awful, but she’s right about the math. Two million lives versus… how many?”

“The Queen mentioned thousands,” Noah replied quietly, his mind wrestling with the ethical implications. “Thousands of developing Halflings in various stages of maturation.”

“Some of whom are nowhere near consciousness,” Lucas added, joining their whispered conference. “If the Queen is right about neural development, the youngest ones wouldn’t even be aware of what was happening.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” Kelvin said firmly, having overheard their conversation despite their attempts at privacy. “We’re talking about potential people. Future lives. You can’t just write them off because they’re inconvenient.”

Lucy stepped into their circle, her expression grim. “Kelvin, I understand your moral objections. But from a leadership perspective, sometimes you have to choose between terrible options and catastrophic ones.”

“Don’t give me political justifications,” Kelvin shot back. “This isn’t about leadership, it’s about basic human decency.”

“They are not human,” Lyra pointed out quietly. “We’re talking about elven reproductive processes that don’t follow human biological patterns.”

“Life is life!” Kelvin’s voice was rising, his cybernetic arms gesticulating wildly. “It doesn’t matter what species we’re talking about!”

Uncle Dom, who had been examining one of the carved wall reliefs with apparent fascination, suddenly spoke up. “The biological ethics are certainly complex, but the practical considerations are straightforward. Absorption of entropy from pre-conscious organic matter would provide sufficient energy for large-scale Domain Transport without the moral complications of using fully aware beings.”

Everyone stared at him.

“What?” he said defensively. “I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid.”

Another tremor, stronger than the previous ones, sent several elves stumbling. Cracks were beginning to appear in the cavern walls, and Noah could hear the sound of falling stone from the levels above them.

“We need a decision,” Noah said, raising his voice to be heard over the increasing noise. “Your Majesty, I won’t force you to make this choice. But if we’re going to act, it has to be now.”

The Queen looked around at her people, at the fear and hope and desperation in their faces. Two million lives hanging on her decision.

“Show us the incubation chambers,” she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper.

Captain Seraleth stepped directly in front of her mother, blocking her path. “No. I won’t let you do this.”

“You will stand aside, Captain,” the Queen replied, steel entering her voice. “This is not a military decision. This is a choice only I can make.”

“Mother, think about what you’re saying! These are our children!”

“These are potential children,” the Queen corrected, but Noah could see the pain in her eyes. “And if I don’t make this choice, there won’t be any future children at all.”

The crowd was growing more agitated, voices rising as families debated among themselves. Some elves were already beginning to move toward the chamber entrances, preparing to flee deeper into the cavern system. Others were gathering closer to their Queen, ready to follow whatever decision she made.

“Please,” Seraleth said, her voice breaking. “There has to be another way.”

“If there is, I don’t see it,” the Queen replied sadly. “And every moment we delay brings Lilivil closer to ending this debate permanently.”

She began walking toward the chamber entrances, her guards falling into formation around her despite their obvious discomfort with the situation. The crowd followed, some reluctantly, others with resigned determination.

The incubation chambers were accessed through a series of descending tunnels that led to the deepest parts of the elven city. As they walked, the Queen provided more details about their reproductive process.

“Each chamber contains approximately fifty incubation pods,” she explained, her voice echoing off the tunnel walls. “The process begins when a mature female reaches her reproductive phase, typically around her second century of life. She enters a meditation state and guides her cellular energy through controlled division.”

“How controlled?” Lyra asked, her scientific curiosity overriding the ethical concerns.

“The donor chooses which aspects of her personality and abilities to emphasize in the developing Halfling. Physical characteristics, intellectual strengths, even emotional predispositions can be influenced during the early stages of development.”

They reached a massive chamber that took Noah’s breath away. The space was enormous, easily as large as the throne room above, but filled with thousands of crystalline pods arranged in precise geometric patterns. Each pod glowed with soft bioluminescent light, and inside…

Noah stared at the contents of the nearest pod. The developing Halfling was clearly elven, but small—perhaps the equivalent of a human eight-year-old. Her features were delicate, peaceful, and she floated in some kind of nutrient fluid that glowed with the same emerald light as the cavern walls.

“Dear god,” Sophie whispered, moving between the pods. “There are so many of them.”

“Over three thousand in this chamber alone,” the Queen confirmed. “Ranging from first-year development to near-maturity.”

“Three thousand,” Kelvin repeated numbly. “Three thousand developing children.”

The chamber fell silent except for the gentle humming of the incubation systems and the increasingly violent tremors from Lilivil’s approach.

“I can’t do this,” Noah said suddenly, stepping back from the pods. “Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but I can’t absorb energy from developing children. There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t,” the Queen replied, her voice flat with the weight of absolute certainty. “This is mercy, Noah, if I got your name correct,” she paused waiting to be corrected. In the absence of none, she continued.

“…These Halflings have twenty years of development ahead of them. If Lilivil destroys us all today, they die anyway—but slowly, trapped in failing systems, starving in their pods.”

Captain Seraleth moved to stand between Noah and the incubation pods, her weapon drawn. “I won’t let you touch them.”

“Seraleth,” the Queen said sharply, “stand down.”

“No, Mother. This is where I draw the line.”

Other elven guards were beginning to choose sides, some supporting their Captain, others remaining loyal to their Queen. The unified front they’d maintained was fracturing under the weight of an impossible decision.

“This is insane,” Diana said, looking around at the thousands of pods. “We’re seriously debating mass infanticide as a survival strategy?”

“It’s not infanticide if they’re not conscious yet,” Lucy pointed out, though her voice carried no conviction.

“That’s a technicality,” Kelvin shot back. “They’re still developing life forms with the potential for consciousness.”

“Potential doesn’t matter if we’re all dead in the next hour,” Sophie said grimly. “Noah, I hate this as much as anyone, but if it’s the only way to save two million people…”

“Don’t,” Noah said, raising his hand to stop her. “Don’t make utilitarian arguments about this. Some things are just wrong, regardless of the math.”

Uncle Dom had wandered over to examine the incubation systems more closely, his scientific curiosity apparently unaffected by the moral implications. “Fascinating bio-engineering,” he said conversationally. “The energy conversion efficiency is remarkable. Each pod is essentially a biological reactor, converting the donor’s life force into developmental potential.”

“Uncle Dom, read the room,” Lucas muttered.

“I am reading the room,” Dom replied cheerfully. “I’m reading it as a space where we’re debating necessary evils versus certain extinction. The moral calculus is actually quite straightforward.”

Another massive tremor shook the chamber, this one strong enough to crack several of the pod supports. Emergency lighting activated as the main illumination systems flickered.

“We’re out of time,” the Queen said desperately. “Whatever we’re going to do, it has to be now.”

That’s when the ceiling exploded.

Lilivil’s massive hand punched through the cavern roof like it was made of paper, sending chunks of stone the size of buildings crashing down into the chamber. The incubation pods were scattered, some shattering immediately, others rolling across the floor as their support systems failed.

“Everyone move!” Lucy shouted, lightning crackling around her as she tried to deflect falling debris.

The hand withdrew, leaving a hole large enough to see Lilivil’s cosmic face peering down at them. Those moon-sized eyes focused on the chamber with obvious interest.

“Found… you…” the entity rumbled, its voice creating pressure waves that shattered more pods.

Noah activated Void Blink instinctively, grabbing the Queen and transporting her away from a falling support beam.

“There… is… nowhere… to… run…” Lilivil continued, its massive hand reaching down again.

That’s when Noah’s system display flickered.

[System Status: Experiencing Interference]

[Warning: Unknown Signal Detected]

[Error: Display Corruption Imminent]

The interface went completely black. Then, after a moment of absolute silence, text began appearing in an entirely different format:

[Well, well, well…]

[What do we have here?]

[Such delicious chaos!]

“What the hell?” Noah whispered, staring at the corrupted display.

Kelvin, who was helping evacuate elves from falling debris, suddenly froze. His face went white as his own cybernetic systems began displaying similar messages.

“Noah,” he said, his voice tight with recognition and terror, “please tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”

[Oh, but it is!]

[Miss me, boys?]

A sound like reality tearing apart filled the chamber. The air in front of them split open, revealing a swirling black void that defied the laws of physics. Energy crackled around the edges of the portal, and the temperature in the chamber plummeted.

From the void stepped a figure that made Noah’s blood freeze.

Gigarose emerged from the dimensional breach like she was stepping out of her bedroom, completely casual despite the cosmic destruction happening around them. She wore her characteristic pink outfit—a short dress that somehow managed to look both innocent and threatening, paired with boots that clicked against the stone floor.

Her appearance was exactly as Noah remembered from the Elder Genes encounter, but somehow more real, more present. Her pink-tinged eyes scanned the destruction with obvious delight, and when she spotted Noah among the chaos, her face lit up with genuine pleasure.

“Noah!” she said brightly, clapping her hands together. “Such wonderful chaos you’ve created! Though I have to say, I’m a little disappointed in how you’ve been handling things.”

“Gigarose,” Noah said, his voice barely above a whisper. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, just taking a little stroll through the cosmos,” she replied conversationally, stepping delicately around the scattered debris. “You’d be amazed what interesting situations you stumble across when you’re browsing the dimensional neighborhoods.”

Lilivil’s massive face turned toward the chamber, those cosmic eyes focusing on the tiny pink figure standing among the destruction.

“Who… dares…” the entity began.

Gigarose looked up at Lilivil with the expression of someone noticing a mildly annoying insect. “Oh, you’re awake. How inconvenient.”

She raised her hand, and Noah felt reality itself hold its breath.

A black energy unlike anything he’d ever witnessed began building in her palm. Not fire, not lightning, not void energy—something that made the fundamental forces of the universe look like children’s toys. The air around her hand began to warp and twist, space itself bending under the pressure of whatever she was preparing to unleash.

“Wait—” Noah started, but Gigarose was already releasing the attack.

The beam that erupted from her palm was pure annihilation given form. It struck Lilivil center mass, and the cosmic entity’s expression shifted from anger to shock to something that might have been fear.

The attack didn’t just damage Lilivil—it began unmaking the entity at the molecular level. Noah watched in horror and awe as the massive form began to crumple, its cosmic flesh dissolving into component atoms that scattered across the void of space.

“No…” Lilivil’s voice was fading, growing weaker as its massive form collapsed. “Impossible…”

“Nothing’s impossible for me,” Gigarose replied sweetly, watching the destruction with obvious satisfaction. “You should have stayed asleep.”

The light from Lilivil’s dissolution was blinding, forcing everyone in the chamber to shield their eyes. When it finally faded, the cosmic entity was gone, leaving only empty space where a living planet had existed moments before.

In the sudden silence, Gigarose turned back to Noah with that familiar, terrifying smile.

“The boy is not yours to destroy,” she said, her voice carrying across the impossible distance to where Lilivil’s remains drifted in space. Then she looked directly at Noah, her pink eyes gleaming with something that might have been affection.

“Grow stronger, Noah,” she said simply. “Someday, I’ll be back.”

And with that, she stepped backward into her portal and vanished, leaving them floating in the debris field of what had once been a living world.

Noah stared at the empty space where she’d been, his system slowly returning to normal function.

[System Status: Restored]

[Notice: Chaos-Level Event Detected]

[Reward Granted: Void Energy Pool Increased by 400%]

Are the chapters too long? I could shorten them but then I feel like it would be scamming y’all of your coins.