Chapter 26: The Beginning of Creation
Part 2: The Last Days of Ordinary Life
The next morning...
The sunlight entered through the window.
Adrian slowly opened his eyes.
For a moment...
He forgot where he was.
The peaceful room.
The familiar ceiling.
The sound of daily life outside.
Everything felt normal.
Too normal.
Then...
The memories returned.
The Garuda battlefield.
The broken Celestial Golden Sky Citadel.
The fallen warriors.
The cries of the survivors.
Adrian closed his eyes for a few seconds.
But this time...
He did not allow himself to be swallowed by those memories.
He slowly stood up.
There was still a life he had to live.
A life called Adrian Voss.
Not Aetherion.
Not the Immortal Emperor.
Just Adrian.
---
The following days passed quietly.
Adrian continued preparing for his creation.
During the day...
He stayed at home.
He organized his thoughts.
He reviewed the information from Aetherion's memories.
He studied the materials he had collected.
At night...
He went to the Originless Heaven Ark.
Inside the Refining Sanctuary...
The empty chamber gradually changed.
Formation patterns were arranged carefully.
Storage areas were created.
Material analysis formations were placed.
Every detail was planned.
Adrian did not rush.
The first mistake could ruin everything.
The Twelve Originless Guardians were not weapons.
They were future existences.
Creating them required patience.
However...
During those days...
Adrian completely stopped doing something else.
Meeting people.
Going outside.
Living normally.
His phone remained silent most of the time.
Until one afternoon...
It rang.
Adrian looked at the screen.
A familiar name appeared.
One of his university friends.
The same friend who usually invited him to drink coffee after class.
Adrian stared at the phone for several seconds.
Then answered.
"Hello?"
"Adrian."
His friend's voice came from the other side.
"You disappeared again."
Adrian remained silent.
His friend laughed.
"Don't tell me you're still locked inside your room."
"..."
"Come on. Let's go drink coffee."
"Just for a while."
Adrian looked toward the window.
The sky was clear.
For a moment...
He almost refused.
The words were already about to leave his mouth.
"I'm busy."
But...
He stopped.
Because he realized something.
Since returning from the Garuda battlefield...
He had been avoiding everything.
Avoiding people.
Avoiding conversations.
Avoiding normal life.
He understood why.
The images of destruction were still inside his mind.
But...
If he completely abandoned the life of Adrian Voss...
Then what was he protecting?
After a few seconds...
"I'm sorry."
"I can't today."
His friend became quiet.
"Again?"
Adrian did not answer.
His friend sighed.
"Okay..."
"Then next time."
The call ended.
---
Two days passed.
During those two days...
Adrian continued working.
The foundation of the Refining Sanctuary became more stable.
The energy circulation system was completed.
The material storage formation was activated.
The preparation work that had occupied his mind finally became lighter.
That evening...
His phone rang again.
The same person.
Adrian looked at it.
This time...
He answered immediately.
"Adrian."
"You are actually picking up."
His friend laughed.
"Are you free today?"
"Coffee?"
Adrian looked at the notes on his desk.
The remaining work could wait.
For the first time in many days...
He felt that he could leave.
"Alright."
A short answer.
The other side became surprised.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Give me ten minutes."
---
The coffee shop was simple.
Nothing special.
No powerful formations.
No ancient treasures.
No battles.
Only ordinary people.
Students talking.
Workers resting.
The smell of coffee filling the air.
Adrian sat across from his friend.
His friend looked at him carefully.
"You look different."
Adrian raised his eyebrow.
"Different?"
"Yeah."
"Before, you always looked tired because of studying."
"But now..."
His friend paused.
"You look like someone who hasn't slept for years."
Adrian smiled slightly.
"Maybe I just need more sleep."
His friend laughed.
"That's the Adrian I know."
For the first time in many days...
Adrian relaxed.
They talked about ordinary things.
University.
Classes.
The upcoming graduation.
Small problems.
Small jokes.
Things that seemed meaningless...
But were strangely precious.
Because after witnessing the destruction of an ancient civilization...
Adrian realized something.
The ordinary world...
Was something worth protecting.
Not because it was powerful.
But because it was peaceful.
---
When Adrian returned home that night...
He stood outside his room for a moment.
Then looked at the quiet house.
A small smile appeared.
Tomorrow...
He would return to creation.
But today...
He was Adrian Voss.
A normal university student.
A son.
A friend.
Not an emperor.
---
Later that night...
Above the sea of clouds...
The Originless Heaven Ark waited silently.
Inside the hidden Refining Sanctuary...
The empty furnace area remained quiet.
Soon...
The first true refinement would begin.
But before creating something that could change the future...
Adrian needed to remember the present.
Because creation was not only about power.
It was about understanding what was worth protecting.