Chapter One
A man sat upon a throne, leaning his head against his hand.
He wore full Black Dragon armour, helm and all — both pitch-black in colour, as though forged from the absence of light itself.
My name is Ren Blackdragon. An eternal being. The one who created everything that exists.
I had been slumbering upon my throne when Nick came rushing toward me. My chauffeur. My trusted friend. One of the few who knew I was not human — who knew my true identity, or at least as much of it as I had chosen to share with him.
"Eternal Emperor Ren — all six of them have asked for you. We've ensured they are gathered in the same chamber."
At that, I finally opened my eyes. They burned from within, like fire behind glass.
"Then let us go."
In an instant, we were there.
The chamber was alive with quiet movement — personal attendants working swiftly and efficiently, each one dedicated to the care of my wives and the newborns now entering the world. The air was warm, heavy with the weight of new life.
My fifth wife was the first to have delivered. Cecillia Morningstar lay with twins resting beside her — a girl and a boy. She looked upon them with a mixture of pride and deep relief, her expression carrying the softness that only a mother's exhaustion can produce.
She spoke before I could.
"How about Diana and Geoffrey?"
"Diana and Geoffrey," I repeated. "Those shall be their names."
She smiled, her expression settling into something warm and certain. "I'm glad you like them."
I stood before Bai next — my Eternal Empress, my first wife. The chamber had grown quieter here, the last of the newborn cries fading into soft breaths and the gentle rustle of silk. I still wore my helm, its shadow falling over the three children as my eyes moved from one to the next in silence.
"Liyun," I said, my gaze resting on the first.
I turned slightly. "Meiying."
Then my eyes settled on the third. "And Xueyao."
Bai smiled softly, repeating the names beneath her breath as though carving them into memory. Around us the household staff exchanged quiet glances — they could feel the weight of the moment. These were names befitting the daughters of the Eternal Emperor and Eternal Empress.
Her beauty was unwavering, her eyes burning with the quiet fire of the phoenix she was. When she spoke her voice was warm and steady.
"It's alright. You can go and see the others now." A gentle smile. "Thank you for naming our children, Ren."
I nodded to her, and she smiled back.
I found Venya next — my counterpart. The only being in existence capable of killing me, and the only one I could kill in return.
Yet death held little meaning between us.
Even if one of us were to fall by the other's hand, we would return before long. Such was the nature of what we were. True immortals did not remain dead. There had come a time when neither of us could truly defeat the other — our power had grown too vast, too evenly matched. And even now, though neither of us had need of greater strength, we continued to seek it regardless.
It was simply our nature. The endless pursuit of power.
"Ren," she said, looking up at me with that calm that only she carried. "I've already chosen names for our four — Isaac, Kai, Violet, and Rose Blackdragon."
I smiled beneath my helm. She saw it and smiled back.
"Do you like them?" she asked.
"Yes. Those names are exactly what I would have chosen myself."
She tilted her head, a knowing smile playing at the corner of her lips.
"I know."
Her gaze drifted toward Talia and she nodded once. I moved on.
Talia's vampire nature was unmistakable — her fangs catching the light, her blood-red eyes burning the moment they met mine.
"I'm thirsty, husband," she said, her voice carrying an edge that sat somewhere between hunger and amusement. "Giving birth to twins will do that." She glanced at the two children beside her. "I've named them Cain and Amelia."
Without a word I reached for a crystal wine glass, removed the gauntlet from my right hand, and drew a blade across my wrist. Blood flowed freely — dark and rich — filling the glass in moments. I handed it to her.
Talia accepted it slowly. She lifted it to her lips and drank the way one drinks something rare — savouring it, tasting each drop with reverence rather than haste.
When she lowered the glass, her crimson eyes found mine.
"Still thirsty? I can cut my wrist again if you wish."
She smiled, her eyes softening in a way they rarely did.
"No… this is enough. I'll savour it slowly." A pause, something quieter in her expression now. "After all — it's your blood, Ren. No one else's could ever compare."
I smiled beneath my helm, slipped my gauntlet back on, and left her to drink in peace.
Mariko was next — my third wife. Her countless fox tails were unfurled behind her, cradling the child she had just brought into the world. She looked radiant. Otherworldly. I gazed down at the infant in her arms — small, delicate, peaceful.
A name came to me without hesitation.
"Shio."
Mariko looked up, surprise flickering briefly across her face before giving way to a smile.
"Shio…" She lowered her gaze to the newborn, her voice dropping to something soft and gently teasing. "Did you hear that, little one? Your papa has given you a beautiful name."
The baby stirred faintly in response, as though she understood.
My sixth and final wife was Eva — my distant cousin. Her eyes sparkled with amusement the moment I approached.
"Husband, look —" She laughed softly, shaking her head. "I've given birth to six children, and I am the sixth wife. How funny is that?"
I looked down at the six children. One rested against her as she fed it. The other five were in the careful hands of her personal attendants, each given a bottle with quiet efficiency.
The head of the imperial household stepped forward — Mary Flower — and addressed me with the full weight of her position.
"Your Eternal Imperial Majesty. All your children and wives are accounted for and well cared for under our supervision."
"Thank you, Mary."
My gaze swept over the six.
"Klaus. Lucian. Viktor. Sonya. Jennifer. Alexandra."
Eva chuckled softly. "I like them. Those are their names then."
It was then that Nick drew close and lowered his voice.
"Ren… there's a woman. She says she has known you for a very long time. An eternity, even — or so she implied."
I looked at him.
"I have to go for now." I turned to address the room. "Take care of them all — Mary, and the rest of you. Please."
They acknowledged me by title. My wives did not pry. They had learned, over time, not to — and I was grateful for it.
As Nick and I walked through the estate I spoke.
"Did she give her name?"
"She said you already know who she is. Why bother asking?" He paused. "Those were her words, not mine. I apologise for the bluntness." Another pause, shorter this time. "She also came with someone else."
I waited.
"She said… it's your eldest child. Your daughter."
When I created everything, I did not merely observe from a distance. I lived among my creations. I walked through the worlds I had brought into existence as any traveller would, curious and unhurried.
One of those worlds was the Void World.
There, I had found Aihan Min — the Empress of Darkness. Her father had been among my earliest creations within the Void World, as had her mother. I lived in the Void Realm for more than a hundred thousand years, and over those long years Aihan gradually developed feelings for me. In time, I returned them.
After an eternity of creation — of fathering countless children with countless women across countless worlds — something in me had shifted. I felt it was time to leave. Time to return home. I was beginning to lose my humanity, slowly and quietly, the way one loses warmth without noticing until the cold has already settled in.
Before I left, I spoke to all of them. I told them why I had to go — for now — and that I would return one day, and marry them if that was still what they wanted. Some understood. Some did not. I held no judgment for either response.
Before departing I sealed away the part of myself I called the Emperor's Shadow — the vast, overwhelming depth of what I truly was — and bound it within Blackdragonhold, my inner domain. There it slumbered upon a throne, encircled by flames of shifting colour, as it had done for longer than eternity itself.
I still watched over it sometimes. My shadow, sitting upon its throne while I sat upon mine.
Now, walking through the estate beside Nick, my thoughts turned to Aihan. She had grown tired of waiting. That was why she was here. I understood. I could not fault her for it.
And with her — our daughter.
"Nick — was there anything else she said? Anything you can remember?"
"No, Ren. She just seemed… impatient. Very impatient."
"And my daughter — did she say anything?"
"Not a word. She was quiet the entire time her mother was speaking to me. Still. Like she was saving everything for you."