Ancestral Lineage

Chapter 557: Aftermath: Changes, New Beginnings, and a Punch

A YEAR AFTER THE WAR...

The world no longer resembled the broken land it once was. Debranlith was gone, changed to something else. Something better. Its continents still existed. Its oceans still stretched endlessly beneath the skies. Its mountains still pierced the heavens, and its ancient forests still whispered with life. But the age of Debranlith had ended the moment the Dragon Emperor fell.

A new era had begun, and with it came a new name: The Kael’Dri Federation. A united world under one banner. One empire, one authority, one Overlord. The title itself carried weight beyond mortal comprehension.

Ethan Voryn Aetherforge Kael’Dri was no longer merely an emperor. The title of emperor had become too small for him after the war. It was too limiting. He was now Overlord, the sovereign of worlds, the ruler who united not just kingdoms, but races, realms, and concepts under one order.

And strangely enough... Peace followed. It wasn’t forced peace born from fear, but stability. For the first time in countless years, the people of the world could sleep without hearing screams in the distance. There were no void-born, no arrogant dragons descending from the skies to annihilate cities, no living darkness consuming lands, and no endless wars between races.

The void creatures had been exterminated completely. Every last one. The final campaigns against them became known as the Cleansing Years. Though it had only taken months, the sheer scale of the operation made it feel eternal. Anbord’s armies had spread across the world like divine judgment.

The Knights of the Dawn Cross, the Serpent Court, the Silverbanes, the Beast Legions, Helheim’s Demonic Army, and Alfheim’s Spirit Archers. Even the dragons eventually joined the cleansing efforts after the fall of Fafnir. The irony wasn’t lost on anyone. The race once feared as conquerors became guardians of the skies.

...

The lands themselves had begun healing. Entire regions once covered in tangible darkness now flourished with life so abundant that some places looked unreal. Massive glowing forests grew where void nests once stood, and crystal rivers flowed through lands once reduced to ash. Nature itself seemed relieved.

Innovation began. True innovation. The Federation entered what historians would later call: The Golden Genesis Era. Hovercrafts became common, teleportation gates connected entire continents, and airships traveled between cities like ordinary transport. Artificial intelligence merged with magic. Alchemy and technology fused into something extraordinary.

The dwarves revolutionized engineering. The elves transformed environmental magic into living architecture. The demons created energy systems powered by Nether cores. The dragons contributed ancient primordial metallurgy and aerial infrastructure.

And humanity adapted to all of it frighteningly fast.

Massive floating cities began appearing across the Federation. Towering academies trained warriors, mages, inventors, and researchers together. The ranking systems of power were reorganized entirely after the war because the old systems had become laughably outdated, even children now awakened powers at absurd levels compared to the old world. The Primord Ascension had changed everything permanently.

...

The Kael’Dri Estate remained exactly as chaotic as ever, if not more. Ethan had finally done something everyone had been expecting for years. He officially married all his wives. The ceremony itself nearly caused international incidents because of how massive it was.

Gods attended, saints arrived from distant worlds. It was celebrated for weeks. The wedding lasted eleven days. Eleven. Nobody knew who approved that.

Probably Harley. The first day alone had enough food to feed entire nations. The second day involved dragon aerial performances. The fourth somehow became a drinking competition between dwarves and demons that destroyed half a ceremonial mountain. On the eighth day, Ethan disappeared because Emma dragged him away after getting jealous over how much attention Harley received.

Nobody spoke about it afterward, especially Ethan.

The final day ended with Ethan standing together with all his wives beneath a sky filled with artificial stars created by Delphina and Xander. Even now, the image remained iconic across the Federation: The Overlord and his Queens.

...

Children had also begun appearing rapidly throughout the Kael’Dri bloodline, which terrified the rest of the world. Every single Kael’Dri child was absurd.

Carmen gave birth first, and Andriel’s child was next. The moment she opened her eyes for the first time, night fell across half the continent despite it being noon. Clara gave birth to a son who accidentally froze an entire lake by sneezing.

Elaine terrified everyone. Her daughter laughed immediately after being born. The nurses resigned instantly. Trevor called her "promising."

Nobody liked that.

...

The original children of the Kael’Dri family had grown even more monstrous over the year. Regnare became widely acknowledged as the strongest young warrior in the Federation. Xander’s name became feared across criminal organizations and hostile factions because of how terrifying his Sin abilities had become.

Delphina gained the title: The Sword Saint of Light. Lamair disappeared for weeks at a time and returned stronger every single time. Jerry became one of the Federation’s hidden pillars. And the younger generation, Werock, Ivy, Devon, Eric, and Ericson.

The toddlers, Sol and Selene, were all growing into terrifying existences already. Rumors were spreading throughout the Federation that the Kael’Dri bloodline wasn’t even mortal anymore. Some believed they had become a race of their own, which they were.

...

And Ethan? Ethan had changed the most, not exactly in appearance. He still looked calm, still smiled casually, and still acted like a surprisingly relaxed man despite ruling an entire world.

But now, people could feel it. The moment he entered a room, reality acknowledged him. Existence bent subtly around him. The title of Origin had deepened. He no longer felt like someone climbing toward divinity. He felt like something beyond it.

Yet strangely, he became softer after the war. People often saw him carrying toddlers around while discussing world policies, or sleeping outside beneath trees while Clara rested on top of him in her fox form, or cooking alongside Emma while dragons and demons argued nearby.

He looked... Happy.

And maybe that was the strangest thing of all, after all the destruction, after all the wars, after killing Fafnir and becoming the Overlord, Ethan Kael’Dri looked like a man who had finally found peace.

But the universe had started watching the Kael’Dri Federation, gods whispered its name, saints observed it. Ancient beings began waking up because everyone understood one terrifying truth.

The Kael’Dri Federation was no longer just a world. It was becoming something much greater. Something dangerous. Something capable of shaking existence itself.

...

Ethan, Trevor, and Lamair sat together on a sofa staring with murderous gazes at a tall man seated in front of them. The man smiled wryly as he felt their piercing gazes on him.

"Uh... Can I explain myself?" Hades asked while scratching his cheek.

Ethan didn’t speak. He just stood, walked straight towards his cousin, and...

BANG!

Hades shot out of the room, breaking the window, and fell onto the lawn outside. Ethan appeared beside him and sat down. Trevor and Lamair joined them. They sat there in silence for some time, when Ethan burst out in laughter. The others stared at him and also started laughing.

"So... what happened to Voriel?" Ethan asked amidst laughter. The god of Death had disappeared entirely, and it was getting too strange.

"He’s dead. His authority was taken."

"Sad."

"Who cares? The ancestor is one crazy old man."

A huge lightning bolt struck Hades right between his legs, almost hitting his manhood. Cold sweat trickled down his brow as he shivered.

"He’s watching you," Lamair commented with a chuckle.