The assimilation of the Exoseleron Galaxy was supposed to be a seamless transition of power. Neo had left Dark Empress Noir in charge of integrating the billions of stars into the Zenith Empire, confident that the absolute terror he had instilled in Emperor Glatos would keep the local populations completely docile.
Everything was proceeding with perfect, brutal efficiency.
Then the heavens literally tore open.
Far away from the newly conquered Exoseleron territories, deep within the heart of the original Zenith Empire, a cosmic anomaly of unprecedented scale manifested.
It did not appear as a violent tear in space or a swirling black hole. It appeared as a staircase.
The Stairway to the Heavens was an ancient, conceptual bridge. It was woven from condensed nebulae, crystallized faith, and the literal bones of dead primordial titans.
For three million years, it had remained hidden, serving as the emergency divine artery between the God Realm and the mortal plane.
