Luna gasped for air as she remained on the ground while battling the power eating her body. The pain was intense, reaching all the way up to her newly formed soul gate and sending it into a wave of torture.

If she were to sit down one day and rank all her terrible experiences since she joined the subjugation, this was by far the most painful. An attack from a real godlike being was something a mortal shouldn't be enduring.

'If I endure this much longer, then death doesn't sound so bad.'

[As expected of the Supreme Ruler's inheritor. Let's try that again.]

Lena. No, the Servant of Light laughed. She raised her arm toward the sky, and a surge of essence flooded the realm. The night itself cracked and the heavens split open.

All the Qi across the entire floor turned golden, warping as the Servant's divine energy claimed it. It spiraled downward, transformed into lightning bolts of judgment--golden and merciless.

And then…

Calamity fell.

Bolts of sacred lightning rained down, striking the land like divine hammers. Trees turned to ash, hills cracked, and every soldier touched by it was reduced instantly to dust and raw essence.

"Run for your lives!"

"Everyone, retreat!"

"…By the gods… what the hell is this?"

Some ascenders tried to block it with enchantments and shields. But to their surprise, the lightning tore through the protections and killed them instantly.

The once proud soldiers of both houses suddenly found themselves running and trying to find somewhere to hide from the falling calamities.

Just when all hope seemed lost, one of the sorcerers of House Artemis opened his Third Gate, and with it, a colossal tortoise emerged into reality. Its ancient shell shimmered with a greenish glow, casting a protective dome of energy over part of Artemis's garden. For a moment, it gave the scattered soldiers something they hadn't felt in minutes—hope.

Above, the Phoenix, who had been dueling the sorcerer moments before, shifted his focus to the sky. The golden bolts falling from the heavens were a problem that could not be ignored.

With no time to waste, he raised his weapon—the Lightning Oath—and poured a great depth of zenshi into it. Flames licked at his feet as he launched himself into the air.

He aimed for one of the golden bolts threatening to pierce the tortoise's shield and swung the katana.

The blade screamed, and the Lightning Oath cried out as it absorbed the divine strike. Sparks danced across the metal, and when the wailing subsided, the sword's edge pulsed with golden lightning. It had taken the essence of the heavens—and now it would return it in kind.

He landed atop the tortoise's shell, sword raised like a beacon of resistance.

More golden lightning cascaded toward them, but the Lightning Oath reacted first, releasing bolts of its own. Divine power met divine power in blinding flashes above the barrier, the sound of thunder echoing like the roar of gods at war.

However, despite its quality, the sword was still mortal. It could carry life essence to a degree, but a god's essence was something else entirely. So each time it countered, cracks spiderwebbed further along its blade. Every strike risked shattering it completely.

The sword held on just long enough. Beneath the barrier, the soldiers made their escape, scrambling over fallen stone and charred roots. The battlefield had shifted—no longer a fight, but a desperate scramble for survival.

Just as the Lightning Oath was about to shatter, the Phoenix dismissed it with a flicker of thought. Then, a pair of bright, fiery wings burst from his back, lifting him into the air like a comet wreathed in flame.

But the moment he ascended, disaster struck.

The barrier vanished in an instant as a golden lightning bolt speared through the tortoise's dome, obliterating its head in a single hit. The creature's body twitched and fell to the side with a loud crash.

"It hasn't returned to the Void?" the Phoenix muttered, stunned. "Has it been banished?"

On the ground, the tortoise's summoner staggered. A violent tug wracked his chest. He coughed up blood, and his body trembled. Then, with a sickening crack, his Fourth Gate shattered.

Another bolt of lightning followed and struck him dead-on.

There was no scream. Just an explosion of blood and flesh—his form erased from existence.

The Phoenix's eyes widened at the brutal sight. But there was no time to mourn. He gritted his teeth and summoned another relic—the Fire Oath. A crimson ring shimmered into place on his finger, blazing with protective zenshi.

Another bolt screamed down toward him. He barely raised his hand in time when the Fire Oath activated, conjuring a burning red barrier around his body. The divine lightning struck the shield with devastating force, sending tremors through his bones. The barrier held—for now—but smoke trailed from his arm, and the ring pulsed with strain.

'Tsk… this is too much for me.' He winced, his body shuddering under the godly pressure.

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Eventually, even the Fire Oath failed.

The barrier cracked and shattered after three more strikes. A bolt of golden lightning appeared next and struck the Phoenix directly, sending his body hurtling toward the chaos below like a falling star.

But death did not claim him. At the last moment, his broken form was swallowed by a burst of flame, his zenshi lashing out to preserve what little life remained. He vanished beneath the smoke and ruin.

From a distance, the Servant of Light watched it all unfold with cold detachment. Mortals were so fragile. So easy to break. Even weakened, restricted by the Balance and the frailty of this vessel, her divine power still eclipsed everything these children of dust could muster.

Her descent hadn't been part of the plan. But the Balance had shifted too suddenly. Razchar's death. The Blood Tower weakening. The unmistakable emergence of the Supreme One's lineage. All these variables had cost her dearly to descend so fast. But if it meant finding the inheritor, it was worth everything.

[Zheng Feng… you were a genius indeed]

Her gaze turned to her target.

The dark-haired girl, half scorched and trembling, was still alive. Barely. Her charred flesh had begun to regenerate. It was slow, painful, but steady. The Lineage in her had awakened, and the birth of a true Divine Physique had begun. And with a Soul Gate, she now stood on the threshold of Heroes—the kind Everlight herself had once fought against in the divine realm.

When she saw her still breathing, she slowly raised her arm again, and golden essence coiled around her fingers like threads of judgment.

She never completed the attack because she noticed a tear through the space beside her. And from it, a second presence emerged.

Moon Siren.

Her entrance was silent, her presence sudden because it had even bypassed the Servant's divine senses. It was alarming. But not surprising because her descent had been rushed, full of shortcuts.

Still.

The Moon Siren didn't hesitate to attack the impostor. Her body glowed with a fierce white luminescence as she launched herself forward and threw a punch that could break mountains.

The Servant raised a single hand.

Clash!

The impact rippled through the clouds, but the punch was stopped. Caught, mid-swing.

Their eyes met, and Moon Siren smirked.

"I fear no gods," she said, her voice a low growl. Her red eyes ignited like twin stars. "By my Authority, you will cease your lightning."

Everlight hadn't expected it to work. So when the lightning bolts halted mid-descent, her eyes slightly narrowed. She immediately recognized the domain that had interfered, and her expression hardened.

Out of all the mortals here, this was the most inconvenient one.

Before she could act again, an ice dragon materialized in front of her. Its presence roared with ancient power, summoned by none other than Mao Feng. Although the servant of light wore her daughter's face, Mao didn't hesitate to attack.

The dragon's maw opened wide, unleashing a blinding beam of white frost aimed directly at Everlight.

However, Everlight did not dodge. She didn't need to. With a single lifted palm, the frost beam shattered upon impact, splitting around her divine half-body like it had struck a mountain wrapped in lightning.

[Do not think such pathetic attacks will work on a Demigod]

She raised her arm, prepared to obliterate the dragon. But Mao Feng acted first, dismissing her summon before it could be destroyed.

The battlefield shimmered with raw essence as the battle continued.

Everlight couldn't invoke her full Domain. This mortal vessel would shatter if she did—but she could wield the Concept of Ice. And because of what she was, that alone was enough to twist reality.

Despite Lena only being at her Second Gate, Everlight was dragging her latent potential to the surface, forcing her body toward limits it wasn't ready to reach. If her soul gates didn't break from this, she might live to see what she could become.

"Everyone! Lenaria Feng has gone rogue. Take her down immediately!" Moon Siren broadcasted a mental message to every living human on the floor.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, steel rang out as weapons were drawn again. Those who could still stand did. Not all understood, but they obeyed.

Mao Feng made the first move. A snowstorm erupted from her palms, blasting Lena's possessed body backward and halting her advance.

But Everlight only smirked. With a flick of her will, she seized control of the storm. Icicles manifested across the battlefield, each one humming with golden, divine lightning.

"By my Authority, you will not move!"

Those words froze the world, along with Everlight. Her icicles shattered and disintegrated mind formation, saving the mortals below from doom.

She was preparing another attack when her body suddenly shivered. Not from fear, but from invasion after something slipped into her consciousness.

Moon Siren had found a way of entering this Vessel's mind without being detected.

Mortals were always so crafty.

She was about to cast her out when Mao Feng's hands joined, and a spiral of ice spears wove into existence. Her zenshi flared like wildfire as she forged more and more with a speed only a master of the Fourth Gate could summon.

Everlight remained calm. She sighed, and essence spears of her own flickered into view, manifesting around her like orbiting comets.

Then--

BOOM!

The sky itself cracked as ice and essence collided. Sparks lit up the heavens as blue and gold warred above a burning world. Every impact echoed like divine thunder, proving just how strong the fighters were.

While that happened, Moon Siren called upon a White Wolf with a crescent on its forehead. This was her summon, a Midnight Great Hound.

'Protect me.'

She commanded in her heart, and the Wolf obeyed by transforming its body into a white sphere that enclosed Astrid in its protective warmth.

Astrid closed her eyes and slipped beyond the physical world. The real world faded away and was replaced by a void like darkness that frightened her when she opened her eyes.

"Hmm….she's been suppressed to this extent." Astrid's red eyes finished scanning her dark surroundings, and she quickly concluded.

She was floating in the air like a single star in a starless night.

Normally when she invaded people's minds, Astrid would often be met by scenes of places they usually found themselves most comfortable in. However, since Lena was being suppressed, her consciousness was buried and drowning somewhere.

[It seems you are still as persistent as ever, Moon Siren.]

She heard a voice…Everlight's voice. "Immortal Sun…"

This was the name she knew Everlight by. It is what the humans of the Mortal Realm called her a long time ago.

[How did you recognize me?]

"The Demon told me of your ruthlessness before I killed it."

[My Ruthlessness? Is that how you mortals see my actions? I, the Immortal Sun…ruthless. Have you forgotten that it is I who blessed your husband and saved millions of mortals? You prayed to me, remember? ]

The pride in the Everlight could be recognized in her tone. Her arrogance was as clear as day.

"And I regret I did," Astrid gritted her teeth. "I should've died then if I knew that I was your target. You should've killed me that day…"

[And what fun would there be in that?]

The voice curled in her mind like fire and silk.

[You acquired the Domain of Authority and became one of the strongest ascenders in the world. You have the power to defy us…]

Astrid recalled the time she acquired a second gate. It was a beautiful day, a great day in fact.

But if she knew this power would bring her misfortune, she shouldn't have celebrated because it was the day this curse of power befell her.

"And I will defy you wholeheartedly." She said coldly. Her red eyes flared as she raised her hand to the darkness and said:

"By my Authority, Immortal Sun. Leave this body."

Rumble!

The darkness shook once her voice echoed.

[Hehe…I can't wait to truly descend and kill you, Astrid Feng. I will make sure you never join your family eating your Soul]

With that, Everlight's voice and presence faded away as it left Lena's body.

Authority was an Aura that imposed rules on objects and beings of any nature as long as they heard her voice. When Astrid first opened her second gate, her zenshi was impure, and she was too weak to use it. But now that she was a Fourth Gate user, with Level 4 mastery, Astrid could use the Aura's true power without many limitations. She could read, invade, and manipulate minds. The second half of her Aura allowed her to impose rules on living beings, which twisted reality to one's will.

However, imposing rules on beings like The Immortal Sun, or Everlight, consumed so much divine essence that she had none left when she banished her away. Her throat also burned and she was robbed of her ability to speak.

When she returned to reality, the battle had stopped, and her barrier was covered in cracks. The Midnight Great Hound was a powerful guardian. And even against a godlike being, it had held.

Lena was still floating in the air, trapped in an ice prison conjured by her mother.

Mao Feng was visibly tired, breathing heavily with sweat dropping down her beautiful face. Even though she was a sorceress, she was still a mortal and therefore could get tired.

Lena's eyes opened slowly and then widened with realization. It's like she had just woken up from a terrible dream.

"Mom?" She switched between Mao Feng and Moon Siren. "What happened?"

Before she could get an answer, her face paled and her grey pupils shrank to a pin size. The memories of everything that had happened flooded her mind.

"The Tower is collapsing…" she remembered.

"The tower."

The Flame of Winter's response came too late.

The tower groaned with a sound that echoed through the bones of the world, and the realm itself began to tear apart. Cracks veined the moon above, splitting its silver face like shattered glass. The earth trembled, then fractured—deep, jagged wounds slicing across the land as the Mildrith began to die.

Its roots surged violently from the ground like starving serpents, coiling through the battlefield. They wrapped around beasts, mortals, and even summoned creatures--siphoning essence with ruthless hunger. Screams filled the air, then silence followed as bodies withered to husks in seconds.

But even that wasn't enough.

The Mildrith---ancient, boundless, and once revered—had become a dying colossus desperate to survive. Its hunger was insatiable. It was collapsing, not just in form, but in purpose.

And nothing in the world was strong enough to stop its death.

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