Chapter 181: Queen of Miracles The people all formed a small mob and followed after Henrietta as she mounted a horse and headed toward the outer walls along with Iris, Molly, and Cain. The other academy teachers were all astonished by the sudden turn of events but still followed through, curious about what Henrietta was planning. Seth watched the precession with a smile before teleporting ahead of everyone else atop the western outer wall, where most of the enemy troops had already gathered. Since the attack on Oath was nothing more than a distraction, the enemy soldiers only had ordinary humans and no ascended. Not even the kings had joined the attack, remaining behind using the excuse of coordinating the attack on the Blood Race. The army was under the leadership of hundreds of generals, who were given the simple order to march on the capital of Oath and report only critical changes. Looking at the endless amount of enemies in the distance, Seth sighed and said: “This must be the grandest distraction in the history of the entire continent. Does Ronald know about the situation?” ((Not yet. Host’s plan to have communication intercepted and destroyed by Raven was a great move.)) “I have my moments.” Laughed Seth. “How long until everyone is here?” “Two days. The generals plan on waiting for all the troops to arrive before attacking.” Seth nodded and opened his soul link to speak to Henrietta. ‘Change of plans. Wait for two days before we begin siphoning. We might as well get them all.’ Said Seth. ‘How am I supposed to keep this rallied-up crowd entertained for two days? Couldn’t you have thought about it earlier?’ ‘Be honest. Tell the people you plan on waiting to kill all the enemies in one swift move.’ ‘Do you think that will work for two days? Who is crazy enough to wait that long?’ ‘Then you better make use of all of your charms. Queen of Oath.’ ‘Asshole.’ Seth chuckled and teleported away, arriving next to Caitlin on the main square. No one was left there anymore, and all the people gathered for the execution followed Henrietta toward the outer capital walls. Caitlin had her eyes closed but still felt Seth’s life energy and asked: “What is it?” “I came to assist you… Are you ready?” Caitlin opened her eyes, already red from all the crying, and shook her head: “I will never be ready….” Seth sighed and moved to sit down in front of her. “All those deaths are on me and not you. Will you blame a sword for slicing thousands of lives on a battlefield or the man who wielded it?” Caitlin let her tears run down her cheek as she said: “But I’m no sword, and these are not a thousand lives… There must be millions of soldiers there.” “Billions.” Said Seth, wiping the tears from her face. “But as I said, those deaths are all on me. I’ll also be with you every step of the way.” “Billions?” asked Caitlin, her hands shaking briefly: “You plan to wait?” Seth nodded and said with a sigh: “This is the best chance you will ever get to perform such a large siphon, or maybe the only one… we can’t let it get to waste. It’s also a great way of hitting all the kingdoms at once. After such a big screwup, their people will kill their kings with us barely having to lift a single finger….” Caitlin lowered her head and said: “I know we made a deal all that time ago, but I never imagined you would ever ask me to kill billions of people…”. With a sad laugh, she continued: “... all the food in the world won’t pay for all those lives, Seth.” Seth sighed again and said: “I know, and there’s no justification for killing all these innocent humans other than my interests. While there is no justification, if we forget about our own emotions, we can rationalize it. Billions will die, yes, but they will die to allow us to better the lives of many more people.” “You have already seen Endora, know of the future I want to bring to this world, and each of these lives will serve in furthering that goal. They will all die to become the power we need to claim that future from the winds of change.” “The world I envision needs them to die, and even if you were to back down and decline, I’d still kill them all the same. The death I will bestow upon them won’t be as peaceful as the one you will.” “It’s not fair, Seth. It’s not fair.” said Caitlin, her voice trembling. “Nothing is fair in life, Caitlin,” said Seth with another sigh. “I want to know if you will do it or do I have to?” Caitlin took a deep breath and nodded: “I already said I’ll do it. You can go. I need to focus.” Seth smiled and shook his head: “You won’t be able to handle a siphon of this size on your own.” Caitlin frowned and looked back at the theory behind the ability before saying: “But it doesn’t make sense. As long as there are enough life anchors, there should be no issue with it….” “That is if you form a circle, but we don’t want the entire city to be wiped out, do we?” Caitlin’s face turned ashed as she asked: “Will it activate even as I extend my energy to the anchors?” Seth nodded and said: “It won’t, but the initial paths will need to channel a great deal of energy, and everyone stuck above it would be sapped of their life as well, so you need to control the energy to avoid them.” “But that’s impossible. I can’t know where every person in the city is at every point in time… we should have Henrietta move everyone to safety.” Seth shook his head: “That would be almost impossible. Controlling every single person is too difficult to do in only two days. Also, I have a way for you to know where every person inside the kingdom is, but I need you to trust me.” Caitlin nodded with a sigh and watched as Seth created a giant wall around the two of them. On the wall’s ceiling, a map made out of glass appeared, depicting the entire kingdom and the surrounding area. Slowly, tiny red dots started appearing on the map, as well as blue lines extending from their position toward small violet dots in the surroundings. Caitlin looked at the map with an astonished expression, and Seth explained: “The red dots are the people, the violet ones are your life anchors, and the lines are the ones you must follow as you activate the energy.” Caitlin nodded with a shocked face and asked: “How can you know so much? This goes beyond simple knowledge….” “I’m a god, did you forget?” said Seth with a chuckle. “Now focus on following those paths and extending your energy.” He then gave her a hand and said: “I know your source might not have enough energy, so use my lifespan if you need to. I have enough for you to use as you see fit.” Caitlin nodded and started focusing again. ——— Back at the outer gates of the city, a large crowd was gathering, looking anxiously between the endless army surrounding the city and their new Queen, Henrietta. As everyone was wondering what Henrietta was planning, she turned around with a wry face and said something that left everyone stunned. “There are too few enemies. Let’s wait until more of them arrive.” ——— Two days passed, and in this time, between Henrietta’s attempts at making the people wait and the enemy numbers continuing to increase, the faith of the people started slowly fading, some even wondering if their new queen had gone crazy. Eventually, the awaited day finally arrived, and Henrietta heard Seth’s voice in her mind. ‘It’s done. Do your grand show and let me know when to have Caitlin activate her energy.’ Henrietta cleared her throat loudly, attracting the attention of those still stuck around all this time. Many had already returned to the kingdom, losing their fate in the new queen or having other businesses to take care of. “My people, the time is finally here. The entire enemy army is now surrounding our capital.” Laughing loudly, she looked at the vast plain of soldiers surrounding the kingdom before saying: “Now it’s time for you all to witness the power of your Queen.” ‘Tell Caitlin to do it.’ ——— Back inside the center of the town square, Seth was holding hands with Caitlin and nodded towards her with a serious expression. “It’s time.’ Caitlin took a deep breath, and an eerie presence enveloped her body, extending slowly outwards towards the enemy army. Her energy passed from one anchor to the other deep underground, continuing deeper inside the enemy lines, surrounding the billions of enemy soldiers. Those anchors were nothing more than dead bodies she had filled with her life energy, all of them provided by Necros. ——— Green, eerie energy suddenly rose from the ground up, covering the entire enemy army under the stunned eyes of the people watching from the city gates. The energy only remained active for five seconds before returning to the ground, leaving the entire field covered in nothing but armors and weapons. No noise or movement was coming from the entire enemy army. Caitlin’s death energy did not spare even the horses they planned to ride into battle. A shudder passed through the backs of the people who saw it firsthand and turned their terrified eyes to look at their new queen, who had her back towards her people, watching the show with a conflicted look. ——— In the town square, green energy kept entering Caitlin’s body through the earth, turning her entire face bright red. Her nails dug deep into Seth’s hands from all the pain assaulting her body as she grit her teeth and tried to direct all that energy towards her source. *Pop* *Pop* Two popping sounds resounded inside her source, and Caitlin’s eyes snapped open, a pained look in her eyes. “That’s enough, Caitlin. You can’t break the seventh shell. Send the energy away.” Yelled Seth in a panicked voice, revolving his destruction energy to eliminate as much life and death energy as possible. Caitlin nodded with a pained look and bent her head backward, sending the extra energy high up into the sky. A sudden ray of green light appeared in the center of Oath city, extending high up into the sky and even changing the light coming from the sky into a pale green one. Caitlin’s body was enveloped by life and death energy for over ten minutes until the energy density started to decrease. Checking with the system and seeing that she was okay, Seth said: “Keep the remaining life energy and spread it around the city. You should be able to heal everyone.” Caitlin nodded, and the ray extending upwards became only half as thick while turning a deep black color. Her eyes opened and flashed deep green as white energy left her body, spreading throughout the city. That day, three miracles happened in the Kingdom of Oath, being etched in people’s minds for years to come. The first miracle was their new queen’s instant annihilation of an army of billions of people. The second miracle was the green pillar that touched the skies and changed even the color of the sun. And the last miracle was the sudden healing of the entire population inside Oath capital. People on their deathbeds stood up, more energetic than ever. Wounds disappeared like a miracle, and missing limbs started growing back up. Any disease inside the capital was eradicated, and even the starving people started feeling full and healthy again. It was a day filled with miracles for the entire capital, and a single person’s name was being chanted that day. “Queen of Miracles, Henrietta Annabella.” Chapter 182: Ice Queen Back inside Endora, Hollie has just flown back inside Maya’s chamber. “They are coming and have already passed the mark where Seth said that ascended was supposed to act.” “Are there still no news from Seth?” asked Maya with worry. Hollie shook her head and said: “If he didn’t even send word, things are still going as planned. We just need to wipe those soldiers ourselves. If that ascended fights back, we should be able to take him together.” Maya nodded and stood up. “Fine. We’ll kill them all. Project my voice across the city.” After Hollie nodded, Maya started changing her clothes into a pure black dress as she said: “People of Endora, this is your queen speaking. The enemy you have all been made aware of is currently marching on our capital.” “I wanted to assure everyone that everything is going according to King Seth’s plans, and we’re now heading to deal with the enemy. Everyone is prohibited from leaving the kingdom until further notice so you won’t get caught in the fighting.” After signaling Hollie to cut the transmission, they flew towards an inconspicuous house far north of the capital. The two of them walked inside and were greeted by a man and a woman. The man fell on one knee, and the woman bowed respectfully. “Queen Maya.” Maya nodded and said: “Ava, it appears something happened, and Seth’s plan has changed. I need you two to come with us and assist in case that sixth shell is going to make trouble. Taking care of a sixth shell destruction ascended should be easy with us four.” Ava frowned and shook her head: “With all the respect, Queen Maya, you might not be right. Not even considering the strength difference between destruction and other elemental energies, he is at the peak of the sixth shell. Dealing with him might be closer to impossible.” Both Hollie and Maya frowned and looked at each other. Maya then rubbed her abdomen, and her frown turned into a smile as she said: “No matter then. You all stay here.” “Huh?” exclaimed both Ava and Hollie. “Seth had left the kingdom in my hands when he left. If I can’t deal with the enemy, you must keep everyone safe until Seth arrives.” Seeing Hollie about to say something, Maya giggled and said: “Don’t worry. Have trust in our man. Also, this is an order.” Hollie sighed and shook his head: “If you act dumbly and get yourself killed, Seth will end up wiping this world out of existence again.”, Ignoring Ava’s shocked face, she continued: “I’m coming too, and if things get dangerous, I will make sure to get you out. Destruction is strong but is not the fastest energy.” Maya nodded, knowing there was no convincing Hollie, and turned towards Ava: “You two remain here and wait for us to return.” Without giving Ava time to reply, she and Hollie flew out, heading toward the far north. When they reached the sea of enemy soldiers, Maya turned towards Hollie and said with a giggle: “It’s been a while since I got to go all out. This is fun.” “I’ll leave it to you then. Also, the most likely conclusion is that Seth had to kill that ascended, which means there are only humans here. The best choice would be to wipe them off with one swift move anyway.” Maya’s face turned serious, and she nodded: “That’s what I also figured. Also, just in case, we should attack from higher up so that ascended won’t have time to protect all the humans if he’s still there.” Hollie agreed and flew the two of them high in the clouds. Maya took a deep breath and started releasing the energy in her source. Light blue energy started extending out of her body, covering the entire sky as far as one’s eyes could see. Her hands were shaking, and she looked exhausted, but there was a large smile on her lips. Turning towards Hollie, she asked: “Are you ready?” Hollie looked at the floor of hundreds of millions of sharp ice spikes under them and nodded with a smile of her own. “Give them hell.” After Hollie’s words, Maya swiftly waved her hands downwards, and all spikes flew towards the grounds. ——— The alliance army was marching towards the capital of Endora. Everyone besides the generals directing the army was confused about why they were not attacking Oath, but they could only swallow their confusion as they followed their orders. After passing through so many deserted villages on the way there, everyone was already anxious, but the generals ignored any advice and ordered them to continue south. They were just as nervous as everyone else, but as they reported the situation to Ronald, they didn’t receive any new orders back, so they could only follow with their initial ones. The only one that seemed entirely at ease was General Tarquin, who was asking his soldiers to tell him jokes as they rode to the south and laughed his ass off on his horse. His cheerful attitude only worried everyone under his command, but every time someone spoke about their worries, Tarquin only had a single thing to say back. “Oh, don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” The soldiers initially happy with their general turning into a friendly idiot were now starting to wish for the cruel and tyrannical Tarquin to return. As they were approaching the capital of Endora and the tension in the air was almost palpable, Tarquim suddenly stopped laughing and looked upward with a frown. “It’s raining… ice?” The other soldiers following after him also looked up and couldn’t spot anything out of order, and they were once more convinced their general had utterly lost it. “General, what about ice?” asked one of the soldiers with a laugh. Tarquin looked at him and smiled: “Oh, don’t worry. Just an water ascended attacking us with ice from the sky. You’ll probably all die, but I’ll live, so everything will be fine.” The smile on that soldier’s face froze, and he looked up but couldn’t see anything again. “Haha, General, you shouldn’t joke like that.” Tarquin shook his head: “I’m not joking.” The next moment, everyone was stunned to see Tarquin lift his hand as a round shield appeared above his head. With the same smile on his face, he said: “Bye-bye. You were all great. I’ll miss your jokes.” Before the soldiers could process everything, a wall of spiked ice fell from the skies, skewing every soldier alive before continuing to travel deep inside the earth. The entire army was completely wiped off in a second, turning into a mess of blood and gore. ——— After sending their attack, Hollie and Maya floated from above, looking at the lake of blood covering the land for hundreds of miles, slowly seeping into the ground through the holes left by the spikes. Seeing Maya looking over the lands covered in death by her own hands, Hollie rubbed her back and asked: “Are you alright?” Maya nodded with a tired look and said: “Seeing it up close is quite disheartening, but I don’t mind killing everyone who would ever threaten Seth and our happiness. No matter how many come, I’ll bury them all the same.” Hollie looked at Maya’s face and was impressed by her words when her ears fluttered, and she looked towards the center of the pool of blood. “Never mind that. I think I found our ascended.” Maya’s face turned serious as she asked: “Is he attacking?” Hollie’s eyebrow twitched as she shook her head: “He appears to be yelling: ‘Sisters, over here. Sisters, over here.’” Maya’s serious expression crumbled as well as she asked: “Are you sure you’re not hearing wrong?” Hollie sighed and started floating along with Maya closer toward Tarquin. When they reached him, the image they saw was even more exaggerated than they expected. Tarquin was jumping up and down, waving his hands toward the sky with a wide smile. The image of his childish acting while surrounded by a literal sea of corpses was quite traumatic. Maya and Hollie looked at each other before asking simultaneously: “What did Seth do to him?” “Sisters, sisters, is Seth here?” Maya and Hollie sighed and floated towards him. Once they reached what they considered a safe distance, they stopped and asked: “Who are you?” Tarquin scratched the back of his head and said: “I’m Tarquin. Seth sent me here with these people. Too bad you killed them. Some of them were quite funny.” Maya tried to reign in her confusion as she asked: “Take off your bandanna. Also, why didn’t you kill them yourself?” Tarquin quickly took off his bandanna, exposing the mark Seth had placed on his forehead and allowing Hollie and Maya to heave a sigh of relief before saying: “Seth said I didn’t have to kill them but only be their general until they got here. Did I do good? He said he’ll kill me if I didn’t do good.” “You did well.” Said Maya with a nod before turning towards Hollie: “Do you know what’s happening?” Hollie frowned and said: “His perception might have acted up, and he broke the idiot’s head. Since Seth allowed him to come, I imagine it’s fine.” Maya nodded and said: “Tarquin, Seth is busy right now. Let’s go to his home and wait for him.” Tarquin nodded, and a wave of air energy suddenly enveloped him. Hollie carried everyone to Ava’s house, where Ava was waiting for them with an anxious expression. Seeing Maya and Hollie return safe along with Tarquin, she heaved a sigh of relief and asked: “Did everything go alright?” Maya and Hollie had awkward faces, but Tarquin rushed to the kneeling Dan and started looking at the mark on his forehead: “Haha, we must be brothers. I have one as well.” Ava looked at the scene with a raised eyebrow before giving Maya and Hollie a questionable look. “We can only wait for Seth to come back and explain, but at least he appears harmless.” After setting Tarquin to live with Ava and Dan, Maya returned to the palace and announced their victory to the people before sitting down to recover her exhausted energy. A celebration was held among the population of Endora the following day, and the academy ascended were all sent to clean up the fight area. After rumors started spreading about the battlefield condition, a new name was being chanted along the common population. “Ice Queen, Maya Cantory.” Chapter 183: Caitlin’s troubled heart The true culprit behind the miracles in Oath was resting on a bed in the palaces. Her excessive use of energy has left her completely exhausted, and she was in slumber, dealing with the after-effects of her successive breakthroughs as well as her intricate control of her power. The energy gathered exceeded Seth’s expectations, so he remained by her side to ensure she was alright while using the system to check the general situation over the continent. ((Following her success in wiping off the enemy armies, Maya has sent Hollie to meet you in Oath.)) ((King Ronald and the rest of the alliance have started sending people to investigate the lack of updates following the attacks on Oath and Endora.)) ((The cleansing of the blood race is progressing smoothly. Over 92% of their population has already been wiped out. ETA to end of the operation: one month.)) Seth nodded and asked: ‘How many of them will survive?’ ((Around a thousand or so. The initial attack had managed to eliminate over 72% of the blood race’s population, but the effort of the alliance to follow their trail didn’t have great results.)) ‘That’s good enough. I’ll take care of the remaining ones myself as soon as they regroup. How long until Ronald starts suspecting something is wrong?’ ((He already does, but it will take a maximum of one week until he confirms it.)) ‘That’s quite fast. Well, no matter. We’ll see what he does then.’ While Seth was discussing with the system, Henrietta teleported inside his room, a tired smile on her face. Looking at the sleeping Caitlin, she asked: “How is she doing?” “She’s getting used to her breakthroughs, or so to speak, but she’ll be fine. How are you?” “Tired. I had to work with the others to round up all the corrupted nobles and throw them in jail. I also need to prepare an execution day, the coronation day, and so on.” Henrietta started complaining while moving to sit next to Seth. “What happened to the awe-inspiring queen of miracles?” asked Seth while pulling her into his arms. “What queen of miracles? I tried to explain to the people that my knight Caitlin was the one who did everything, but everyone ignored me… its quite frustrating.” Seth chuckled and said: “They needed a leader they could trust, and their need for you to be that leader is making them act like this. It’s also better to let them believe what they want. I’m sure Caitlin won’t mind.” Henrietta nodded with a short sigh and lifted her hand: “Oh, I wanted to ask. What’s with this thing? It appeared out of nowhere, then went to sleep and started itching like crazy.” “It reacted to the people’s fate in you. That’s why it showed itself, but after it wasted its energy, it went back to sleep. As for the itch, it’s just trying to tell you it’s proud. Or annoyed. Who knows.” Henrietta sighed again and closed her eyes while burying her head into Seth’s chest: “Let me rest for a few minutes like this. I barely got time to see you and need to speak to the academy. Then I must make a public announcement about the kingdom situation and also announce your visit to the kingdom… so much work….” Seth nodded and let her rest as he asked: “Did you visit your family?” Henrietta remained silent for a moment before saying: “Dealing with my father was easy… sort of… but seeing my mother, brothers, and sister…. Can you come with me? It will help to have you around.” “Sure. Tell me when you want to do it, and I’ll come.” “After holding the announcement about your visit and dealing with the academy, so tomorrow?” “Alright. Just come pick me up. Oh, by the way, the war in Endora is over, and Hollie is coming here.” Henrietta gave Seth a strange look but didn’t ask how he knew as she closed her eyes and said: “That’s good.” After she rested for a while, Henrietta left again, and Seth remained to accompany Caitlin. She only woke up late into the night. As her eyes opened, they flashed bright green before turning towards Seth. “Is it over?” she asked with a pained expression. “It is. How are you feeling?” said Seth, moving to help her sit up. Caitlin lifted a hand, and the flesh on her bones started slowly fading away before regrowing back again. “My body still hurts, but I’m fine. The breakthroughs are quite handy.” “That’s not what I meant.” Said Seth. Caitlin lowered her head and sighed: “Weirdly calm. Definitely not like someone that had just committed mass genocide.” “And how would you know how committing genocide would feel?” asked Seth. “Do you want something to eat? Maybe some sweets?” Caitlin touched her belly and shook her head: “I’m not hungry and don’t feel like eating anyway… another time.” Seth gave her a worried look and surprised Caitlin by pulling her into his arms. He might have accepted she was fine if not for her aura and lack of appetite telling him a different story. “You don’t need to act strong, you know. Everyone has the right to be weak once in a while, and if my little glutton says she doesn’t want food, she is definitely not fine.” Caitlin started tearing up in his arms, moving her hands to hold him tightly, and she just cried in silence without saying a single word. After hours of silent crying in which Seth just rubbed her back, she fell asleep once more. Feeling her crying stop, Seth placed her on the bed gently and used his finger to mend the frown on her forehead. As he was about to get out of bed, Caitlin’s small hand caught the hem of his shirt. Looking back, Seth sighed and decided against leaving, hugging her in bed and covering the two with a blanket. In the morning of the next day, Caitlin found herself sitting on something hard. Frowning, she opened her face to see she was sitting on top of Seth. In bed. Under a soft blanket. Her face turned red as she slowly tried to get down. Feeling her move, Seth, who was cultivating, opened his eyes and said: “Good morning.” “Eek.” A loud yelp left Caitlin’s lips as she jumped up, moving to the side of the bed and looking at Seth with a red face. After seeing Seth laugh, she immediately said: “Why did you have to speak in my ear like that? You made my heart jump out of my chest. Also, why are you in my bed?” Seth chuckled and said: “Someone grabbed onto my clothes last night when I tried to leave, so I had no choice but to remain here. Also, as I was cultivating, that someone kept moving in their sleep and climbing over my body.” Caitlin’s face turned even redder, and she waved her hand toward Seth, sending an orb of death energy right at him. Seth’s smile froze, and he teleported out of the way, not daring to touch her energy. Once Seth was safe, the ball of energy traveled through the opposing wall, flying out of the palace. “Quickly cancel it before it touches anyone.” The blood drained from Caitlin’s face, and she quickly pulled her energy back before rushing at Seth: “I’m sorry. I forgot I’m at the sixth shell. Are you hurt?” Seth smiled at her worried expression and said: “Is someone worried about me?” Caitlin flared up again, and her death energy started leaking again, making Seth’s smile disappear as he teleported away from her. This time Caitlin quickly canceled her energy and said with a red face: “If you don’t want to die, stop teasing me.” Seth nodded and created a few sweets before saying: “How about an offering so you can spare my life?” Caitlin looked at the sweets with a red face and nodded: “You got a deal.” The two sat down on the bed, and Seth filled a small blanket with sweets and desserts for Caitlin to eat. Caitlin looked between all the goodies and asked with a red face: “My hands still hurt. Can you feed me?” Seth raised an eyebrow and asked: “Really? That’s what you’re going with? After almost killing me.” Caitlin’s face flared up, and her energy started revolving, leaving Seth no option but to grab a small chocolate candy from the table and move it in front of Caitlin. Still, his action had the opposite effect, and Caitlin’s energy started revolving even faster. As Seth was considering running again, Caitlin grabbed a small cup of water from the table and poured it over her head. Then, ignoring Seth’s stunned look, she moved her lips and swallowed the candy from Seth’s hand. Seth didn’t tease her, afraid she would explode again and create a new water cup before feeding her some more. Caitlin kept eating from Seth’s hand, her source spinning once in a while and ending up with her pouring more water on her head. After the food was gone, Caitlin lowered her head, and the blush slowly disappeared from her face before she said hesitantly: “Seth, I could hear them….” “Them?” asked Seth with a frown, noticing the gloom in Caitlin’s tone. “The people I… when the energy was coursing through me, their cries resounded into my ears… it was horrible.” Seth sighed and said: “It was probably a result of their souls being returned to the spirit well… since you absorbed their life energy, those souls had to pass through you as well.” Caitlin lowered her head, and her hands started shaking: “It was horrible… I never want to go through that again….” Seth sighed and moved close to her again, pulling her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Cait, for having you go through that….” Caitlin nodded and asked: “Is there a way for me to grow strong like you? I don’t want it to hurt like that….” “Strong like me, huh… you might want to reconsider that request.” “In the former timeline, I was not strong enough to face all cries that hunted me, and instead of facing them, I ran away. Even as a God, I was still running away from them the entire time….” “So if you think I am strong, you are at least ten times stronger because you fought against that pain. You just don’t know it yourself… I couldn’t do that until they all caught up to me and gave me no choice.” Caitlin remained silent and continued hugging Seth. Suddenly, she asked: “Will you make me yours as well?” Seth was surprised and tried to pull back and look at Caitlin’s face, but Caitlin held tightly onto him, burying her face in his chest. As Seth was about to answer, a portal opened, and Henrietta’s voice broke their moment. “Oh, did I interrupt something?” Feeling Caitlin about to erupt, Seth teleported a gallon of water above their heads, drenching them both. Henrietta was stunned at the sudden happening, even more so considering she knew it came from Seth, but before she could say anything, Caitlin buried her face in the bed and spoke into her pillow. “Answer me later. Go now.” Seth sighed and stood up, bonking Henrietta on the head. “You know how close you were to killing me? Let’s go.” Chapter 184: Trouble in the north Henrietta initiated the teleportation, bringing Seth to the prison entrance as she massaged her head and asked: “What was that for? It hurts?” “She’s now a peak, sixth shell ascended; her feelings are in turmoil as the influence of her source increased so suddenly, and you interrupted her love confession. Or at least that’s what I think that was. If I didn’t pour water on her head, she might have killed me then and there.” Said Seth. “Is she that strong?” asked Henrietta as she started leading Seth deeper inside the prison. “Strong? Her control is quite weak, but her attacks can only be stopped by energy at the same level and take away someone’s lifespan. The more energy she uses in an attack, the deadlier it is.” Henrietta was surprised and said: “I didn’t think life and death ascended are so strong.” “Everyone thought that before they found themselves dead. Life and death ascended tend to avoid fights, but once they get involved, they are particularly annoying to deal with. Even if you survive an attack from one of them, the wound will not heal like a normal one. Instead, you will lose a part of your lifespan.” “Two all-out attacks from her would have turned Iris into a bag of bones.” As Seth explained more about life and death energy, the two arrived at a small prison cell, where a woman was sitting on the bed with a gloomy look. Seeing Henrietta and Seth appear, she didn’t stand up as she said: “So you came to kill me at last?” “Mom…” muttered Henrietta, barely keeping herself from crying. Seth grabbed her hand to let her know he was there, and Henrietta took a deep breath before asking: “How are you, mom?” The woman looked at Henrietta with a wry face and said: “After all this time. That’s what you ask me. You locked my husband and children in prison, and now you’re asking me how I am? Great. I’m doing amazing.” Henrietta lowered her, and the woman continued: “As for you. Are you the one who corrupted my daughter? Turned her into someone that would not hesitate to turn against her own family?” “I know about you. A traitor to the kingdom. You took all my husband’s help and threw it back in his face, taking away everything from him. You’re - “ Henrietta’s grasp on Seth’s hand hardened, and she suddenly lifted her head: “Family? I know, mom, so don’t try to take the high road with me. I know you cheated on King Lian, and I was a result of that affair. I heard you two fuck in the throne room with my own ears, so don’t bother denying it.” “You noticed that father had started shunning me, so I don’t believe for even a second you didn’t know why, but instead of trying to be closer to me, what did you do? You also started distancing from me so that your precious husband would not leave you or kill you as he did with your lover.” “My brothers and sisters must have also seen how the two of you acted and ignored me as well. The ones who cared about me most after that were the maids and guards who took pity on me.” She then turned her teary eyes to Seth and said: “Corrupted? He was the only one who showed me love. He came to that room where you all isolated and saved me from that painful cage. He gave me power, love, and everything I could ever ask for.” “He’s shown me more love in these few years than all of you did in my entire life, so if you want to yell at me for having you all locked in here, you can do so, but don’t try to speak to my husband like that. He’s more of a human than all of you combined will ever be.” Henrietta’s mom was stunned to hear her daughter’s words, but before she could speak, Henrietta turned back towards her, this time her eyes cold and unfeeling. “You’ll be released and stripped of your royal status. You will be given enough gold to live your life as you want to, but you must never appear in my face again, or I swear I will finish the job I started with Lian.” “You’ll be released tomorrow. How many of your sons and daughters leave with you depends on their answers.” After saying her piece, Henrietta teleported away with Seth, arriving in a dark corner of the prison. Her cold face crumbled, and she started crying in his arms. “Shh. It’s fine.” Seth started slowly consoling her as she cried her sorrows away. It took about an hour until Henrietta finally calmed down and left Seth’s arms. Looking up at him, she lifted herself on her toes and pecked his lips. “Thank you. Let’s go. I need to see this through.” Seth cleaned the tear stains from her face and nodded. The two arrived next to another cell, where a young and fragile lady was hugging her knees in a corner. Her cheeks were drenched in tears, and she looked up as soon as she heard footsteps. Seeing it was Henrietta, she lowered her head again and said nothing. Henrietta took a deep breath to steel herself and said: “You have two choices. You can join your mother in her exile and live with her, or you can be given citizenship in the Kingdom of Endora.” The first princess’s body shook, and she remained silent for a long time before saying: “I’ll leave with mother.” Henrietta bit her lip and nodded: “You’ll leave tomorrow.” After walking away again, Seth asked: “Are you okay?” Henrietta nodded and said: “I was always jealous of her, and the love mother and father gave her, but seeing her now, so weak and pathetic, I’m weirdly happy for how my parents treated me.” “I grew up to be strong… I lost a sister and a family, but I gained much more. You, my sisters, our people. I can’t say I’m not sad, but I’ll live.” Seth and Henrietta then moved from one prince to the other, each being wilder than the other. They kept swearing and cursing at Henrietta, but she didn’t care and gave them all the same choice. Leave the Kingdom or Die with king Lian. After delivering three more sentences, they finally arrived at King Lian’s cell. King Lian was sitting on his bed with a tired look and looked up at the sound of footsteps. Seeing it was Seth and Henrietta, he sighed and asked: “Have you come to deliver my sentence?” Henrietta nodded: “The public will decide what will happen to you, not me. Your trial will be held in two days, but if I were to make a guess, I’d say you only have a single fate ahead of you.” “That’s fine.” Said Lian with another sigh. “You need to kill the former king to stabilize your position on the throne… Tell me. How did the war go?” “We won.” Replied Henrietta. “I see.” Muttered Lian, looking at Henrietta before sighing once again. “If only you would have been my daughter. I would have even died without regret, but sadly, it seems the bloodline of Crovan is ending with me….” Henrietta nodded and started dragging Seth away when Lian asked: “Can I speak alone with Ascended Seth?” Henrietta turned to look at Seth, and he nodded before kissing her lips: “Go and deal with your responsibilities. I’ll chat a bit with Lian.” Henrietta teleported away, and Seth turned to look at Lian. “So, what did you want to speak about?” Lian sat on his behind and pointed towards the bed across from his with his hand: “Will you do a dead man a favor? I don’t want to speak to you between these bars.” Seth nodded and teleported to the bed. Lian took a moment before asking: “Why did you do it? Why didn’t you remain here and support me instead?” Seth shrugged and said: “Simple. Because I wanted and needed the throne.” Lian frowned and asked: “But why all this trouble? You could have easily forced the throne away from my hands.” “I didn’t want to kill Iris and needed the people to accept my claim to the throne. Quite a difficult thing to do using force. “ “Haha, dragging Iris away and then having Henrietta dethrone me… quite the play you had there….” Seth shook his head and said: “Taking Henrietta under my wing had nothing to do with having her dethroning you. Also, the thing with Iris only happened because she forced my hand by capturing a friend. “ “It was more of a series of lucky coincidences and not that much of a master plan. I just took the situations I landed into and did the best I could out of my circumstances….” “So it’s like that.” Muttered Lian, lowering his head. “There’s something that has been bothering me. How come you have all this knowledge? It sometimes seemed like the entire kingdom was playing in the palm of your hand.” Seth smiled and brought his head closer, looking straight into Lian’s eyes: “Because I come from far off into the future, and I have already lived this life. There’s a thing called time energy which lets you control time itself. So, I’ll grant you this mercy and let you die a knowing death, Lian. You never stood a chance from the very start.” Lian looked surprised and skeptical initially, but everything seemed to make sense. In the end, he could only mutter: “I never stood a chance from the very start.” Seth smiled and stood up: “I hope you can now die in peace and if you worry about your kingdom, don’t. I’ll take it to greater heights than you ever could.” Just as he was about to teleport away, Lian asked: “Wait. You said you lived this life before. What happened in that life? Who won?” Seth shook his head: “No one, Lian. The alliance happened just as it did now, and once its ascended appeared inside the capital, Iris detonated her sources, wiping the entire capital off. You were all dead, and I only lived because I had long moved into the far north, pursuing the path of my energy.” Lian nodded and sighed: “I guess my fate was always to die… at least Oath will survive this time. Seth, I know we are enemies, but thank you for saving Oath and caring for that girl. I still loved her as my daughter, even if only for a while.” Seth nodded and teleported away without saying a word. Even if Lian had his faults, in the end, what Seth did to him was much worse. ‘Monitor him and let me know if he does anything stupid. I don’t think he will, but I can’t risk it.’ ((Affirmative.)) After finishing his chat with Lian, Seth returned to the royal chambers and sat down on the bed. ((Host, there’s strange movement in the north.)) ‘What do you mean by strange movement?’ ((The Kingdom of Death is mobilizing for invasion.)) ‘Hope?’ asked Seth with a frown. ((The orders are to mobilize the armies with no target announced, but that’s the most likely conclusion.)) ‘What’s that monster doing?’ ((Planning to travel with the army.)) ‘Then he’s attacking the Hope Kingdom. I wonder what made him act so soon... How long until Hollie gets here?’ ((Three weeks.)) ‘It looks like I need to head to Hope as well. I can’t start occupying the rest of the kingdoms and deal with the situation in Hope at the same time, so I’ll have to let the girls complete the takeover. Run some simulations and find me the best candidates to occupy each kingdom in the alliance except Hope.’ After giving the system its orders, Seth heaved a heavy sigh. “Let’s hope I won’t be too late.” Chapter 185: Tying up loose ends On the day following Seth and Henrietta’s visit to the prison, the release of the Royal family was carried out. Henrietta only got involved with approving the funds for their journey and leaving everything else to the guards. Henrietta instead spent the day making arrangements for Seth’s official visit to the kingdom, holding some announcements for the former king’s trial, and dealing with other official business. Seth spent the day cultivating, and soon it was time for King Lian’s trial. Early in the day, a large gathering was present in the town square, everyone looking forward to the trial. The trial was scheduled to start only at noon, but people were okay with waiting in the square for it to begin since early morning. At noon, two guards dragged Lian toward the main square in chains. Henrietta and Iris also appeared on the podium, ready to oversee the sentencing. After Lian was brought in front of the people, a royal officer brought a list and started listing all of Lian’s crimes. Barely a few lines in, the people were all yelling for his execution, even throwing stones or whatever they could find toward him, but Lian showed no reaction as he listened to everything the official had to say. After more than half an hour of crimes, Lian’s face was already drenched in blood from all the stones hitting him. Henrietta was also on the verge of tears, having to move to the side to prevent the people from seeing her red eyes. Seth was also observing from a distance, but he could only sigh and continue watching. Just as he was about to move his eyes back on Lian, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye and his heart fell. Watching Lian’s face unflinchingly, Elise had started bleeding from her eyelids. Her skin was also wriggling wildly, like blood wanted to leak out of her body. “Oh fuck.” He muttered, opening his soul-link to Henrietta: “Teleport Iris to me. I’m on the roof across from the square.” Henrietta was startled and quickly noticed the changes happening with Iris as well. Without hesitation, she placed her hand on Iris’s shoulder and teleported her away to Seth’s location. Seth immediately moved to grab Elise’s hand and asked: “What is happening? Is she waking up?” Elise frowned and shook her head weakly: “She’s trying to kill herself. Her soul is shutting down, and I have difficulty keeping it alive.” “Break your control over her.” Seth nodded and placed a hand on Iris’s forehead, flooding her body with perception energy. As Seth tried to soothe her soul, a small drop of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth and turned into a core falling on the rooftop. Seth ignored the core for the moment and kept trying to calm down Iris’s soul. It took almost a quarter of his perception energy to send her back into a deep slumber. Once he felt she was out of danger, Seth heaved a sigh of relief and slowly placed her down on the floor. “Still so stubborn….” Seth then looked to the side at the small blood-red core, picking it up and saying: “Remain like this for now. Stirring her soul again might be dangerous for both you and her. I’ll find you a new host.” The core flashed bright red for a moment before becoming dormant. Seth placed it in his jacket pocket and continued watching the execution. King Lian surprised everyone by confessing to all the listed crimes before moving on to the guillotine by himself. After declaring his sentence, which according to all the screams coming from the crowd, was death, Henrietta fought the instinct to close her eyes. She didn’t want to look away from it, and she and Lian just looked into each other’s eyes until the guillotine blade fell and caused his head to roll lifelessly on the floor. Henrietta’s body shuddered as a small teardrop fell down her cheek. The yells and curses from the people also turned silent for a moment before erupting into loud cheers. Henrietta walked to Cain and whispered: “Can you take over… I can’t….” Seeing her face, Cain nodded and said: “Go. I’ll handle everyone.” “Thank you.” Whispered Henrietta before teleporting away. Cain resumed the execution by bringing Necros to be tried next. After listing his crimes, Necros also shared the same fate as the former king. Seth placed a hand on Iris’s shoulder and teleported after Henrietta. After arriving inside her chambers in the palace, Henrietta jumped into Seth’s arms, crying her heart out. For the rest of the day, Seth spent it monitoring Iris and trying to calm down Henrietta. It was already late at night when Henrietta finally left Seth’s arms. Seeing Iris unconscious next to them, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and asked: “What happened with Elise?” Seth lifted the small core from his pocket and said: “She’s back in her core. Iris tried to kill herself, and Elise wasted her life force to keep her from doing it.” “Now she’s hibernating, and Iris is unconscious again.” Henrietta sighed with a nod and asked: “Will they be alright?” “Elise only needs a new host, so there’s no problem there, but I can’t say I’m not worried about Iris. Honestly, it would be best to have her moved to Endora. Maya’s presence might ease her troubled soul.” Henrietta nodded and looked at Iris before saying: “I think Maya would also be happy to have her there… even like this..” After speaking a bit more, Seth decided to intercept Hollie right after his announcement tomorrow. He was sad to miss Henrietta’s official crowning, but he still had to take care of many things. The following day, most of the city gathered in the main square again, this time to meet the King of Endora. The people were quite unhappy since, even if not official, Seth would be their king, but since one couldn’t be king of two kingdoms, their kingdom would most likely fall under Endora as a tributary one. Their questions to Queen Henrietta about it remained unanswered as she declared everything would be revealed following Seth’s arrival. All she did was to assure everyone that her promise of a better life still stood. As everyone was discussing with each other in wait, out of nowhere, there was now a new person sitting on the podium erected in the city square. The people stopped speaking as more and more eyes were attracted to the newcomer. Seth nodded towards Henrietta with a smile before turning towards the rest of the people gathered in the square. Feeling the tense atmosphere, he started his speech right away. “People of Oath. Some of you might be familiar with me since I had lived here as a teacher of the academy for a while, while to others, I’m nothing but a complete stranger.” “My time is also limited, so I will make this as quick as possible. You don’t know, but the alliance had not only attacked Oath. They also attacked Endora at the same time. Rushing here as Endora is still reeling from the attack was troublesome, but I know I had to ease some of your worries.” “Many of you are afraid I will add Oath’s territory to Endora, but that’s not the case.” “Moving on, Queen Henrietta will remain the official Queen of Oath, and I won’t be taking the title of King of Oath. Both kingdoms will maintain their current government independent of each other, but since Henrietta is also my Royal Consort, things won’t be able to remain like this forever.” “The alliance had attacked both Endora and Oath, so for now, while Oath would focus on improving its stability, Endora will strike back at our enemies for both kingdoms.” “I’ll be moving against the Kingdoms of Noth, Curse, Sorrow, Loss, and Wrath with full force, and I won’t stop until every one of them falls under my banner.” “Once the war is over, The Kingdom of Endora would be no more and this will be the birth of the Endora Empire. The Oath Kingdom would then fall under the empire’s influence, as will all the surrounding Kingdoms.” “Queen Henrietta will remain the ruler of the Kingdom of Oath, and not much would change for the common people besides having the support of an entire Empire. I’ll also not directly involve myself in how the Kingdom of Oath will be ruled, leaving everything to your queen.” “Since Oath will be positioned right in the center of the empire, you will never have to worry about enemies arriving at your doorsteps, and you’ll finally live the safe and happy life you had dreamt of.” Seth then continued explaining a few more things, mainly about the academy in Endora and how ascended will travel to support them in bettering their lives, before thanking the people of Oath for listening to him and moving to speak to Henrietta. “I’m leaving everything to you.” He said, grabbing her hand in the view of everyone gathered there. Henrietta nodded and lifted herself to peck Seth’s lips: “Take care, Seth. I’ll make sure to take care of Oath.” After nodding towards Henrietta, Seth waved his hand to all the people of Oath and teleported away. He next arrived in Iris’s room, where Caitlin was watching over her. “Are you ready?” asked Seth, lifting Iris in his arms. Caitlin nodded and stood up with a red face. Their conversation from that night was left unsettled, but she couldn’t bring herself to open it again, so she was now feeling quite awkward. After Caitlin nodded, Seth opened a portal and teleported with the two toward the south, looking to intercept Hollie. With his speed being faster than hers, Seth only had to travel for one week when a gust of wind ruffled his and Caitlin’s clothes. They both stopped and looked up, watching Hollie gently glide downwards towards them. Hollie looked at the three and said: “Oh, good thing we didn’t miss each other.” Seth chuckled and watched her land in front of him. Hollie then looked at Iris and, feeling her heartbeat increase as she asked:" What happened to her?" “Her soul had relapsed…” Seth began explaining what had happened since the only news that reached Endora was about her shutting down and Elise using her body temporarily. After explaining Iris’s condition, Seth also told her about Caitlin’s breakthroughs, making Hollie scan the little girl with a raised eyebrow. After updating her about everything in Oath, Seth said: “I will need you to take her back to Endora and have Maya look over her until she gets better again. That sixth shell destruction should also be there, tell him to use his energy to seal her air source.” “Sure, but what’s the deal with that guy? He’s been acting like a child. Did your perception backfire?” asked Hollie with interest. Seth nodded and said: “That it did. I only managed to convert half his soul before my energy dried up. I resumed the process after it recovered, but it turned slightly crooked. But there’s no need to worry. I made sure he won’t try anything, or the moment he does, he will die.” Hollie nodded and made Iris’s body float from his arms toward her. “Alright. Anything else?” “No. I’ll pass by Endora and tell Maya everything myself, but I first wanted to leave Iris and Caitlin with you so I can travel faster. When you arrive back in Endora, I’ll be gone again. Sorry about that.” Hollie nodded and said: “That’s fine. You’ll make it up to me the next time.” Seth chuckled and moved to kiss her lips briefly, slipping something inside her hand. "That I will. Keep this safe. After taking care of everything, I plan on going into seclusion with all of you. During that time, I'll make it up to everyone." After his promise to Hollie, Seth moved to Caitlin, who was looking down with a red face. Seth chuckled and stunned the poor girl by bending down and kissing her lips. Seeing Caitlin’s face turning redder by the second, Seth broke the quick kiss and started revolving his space energy. “That is your answer. Wait for me.” Before she could erupt again, Seth disappeared with a burst of loud laughter. Chapter 186: Passing by Endora Seth quickly arrived back in Endora’s capital and wasted no moment before teleporting into Maya’s room. Maya was playing around with a vial when she froze at the sight of Seth. Without care for anything, she used water to push herself forward, pushing Seth against the wall and sucking on his lips while her hand started moving toward his pants. Seth grabbed her hand and pushed her away: “You sure are thirsty, but I don’t have time for fooling around, love.” Maya once more ignored his words, pushing him to the ground and using her water energy to tie him to the floor. “Whatever it is. It can wait.” She mouthed before ripping his clothes off, but her face deflated like a balloon when she witnessed his flaccid rod. “That’s not fair…” she said with a pout, her puppy eyes staring into Seth’s. Seth sighed and shook his head, starting to harden himself. “Mmm~~” Maya’s face brightened as she immediately impaled herself in it, a moan of satisfaction leaving her lips. She moved her waist in a circle while keeping Seth inside her and said: “Don’t look so grumpy~ You can tell me what you need, and I’ll listen~.” “No matter. We’ll speak after.” Said Seth, lifting his waist to start sucking on her nipples while Maya began moving up and down. The two had some quick fun before Seth came inside Maya, and they both fell on the hard floor. Maya started licking his neck and said: “Okay. That’s enough for an appetizer. What happened?” Seth rubbed her back and said: “I came to break the energy inside Dan and Ava’s sources while also leaving some more vials for Katy and giving you instructions. I need to rush to the Hope Kingdom.” Maya nodded but didn’t stop licking his neck, her hands massaging Seth’s long hair. “Does this mean you’re going to be gone again? For how long?” “Yes. Now that I’ve wiped out the enemy forces, it is time for our kingdom to go on a rampage. The morale of the remaining kingdoms makes it the best time to annex them to Endora, but I can’t do that myself. Something is happening in Hope, and I must retrieve an important thing from there.” Maya frowned and asked: “You didn’t tell me how long you’ll be gone. Also, what about the other kingdoms? Do you want us to take them over? That will take a lot of time as well.” “I know, but we have time. The blood race was crippled, with only some of the strongest members surviving and going into hiding. The alliance’s armies are gone, their coffers empty, and their people angry. As they look at their leaders for an explanation, our kingdom will easily replace most of them and convert the others.” “As for how long it would take me to return... I don’t know. If everything goes well, I should be back in a few months, but if not...” Seeing Maya remain silent, Seth sighed and kissed her forehead: “I know we barely had time to be together, but I’ll make it up to you once this is done.” “We know.” Said Maya with a sigh of her own, licking Seth’s earlobe before whispering: “So, what did you need us to do?” “I’ll need you to support Henrietta with creation and earth ascended to remove housing and food problems in Oath.” “I’ll have the academy mobilize its ascended. Anything else?” “Have the rest of the ascended spread to kill the bandits running freely through Oath and break the border wall between the two kingdoms, creating a road connecting the two capitals. I know the human technology will take a while to reach the desired level, so ascended would have to take care of everything for now.” Maya nodded again, continuing to lick and suck on Seth’s ear. “Anything else?” “Yes. After I leave for Hope, Send Rebecca and Katy with Sal to take over Wrath. Icas is holed up in his throne room, drinking his sorrows away, and the entire kingdom is in a state of panic. Have them go there and ask for an explanation for their troops marching inside our kingdom. In retribution, kill Icas and have Sal help Rebecca take over the throne. Sal will know what to do.” “I’ll tell them. Anything else?” Seth sighed and stopped her from licking his neck, pulling her head up. Seeing his look, Maya sighed and asked: “Is it about Iris?” Seth nodded and said: “I wanted to apologize to you. I managed to save her life, but her situation is still… complicated. I had Elise remove herself from her body, and she’s now being carried here by Hollie.” “To increase her chances of making it out alive, I need you to try and speak to her while keeping her next to you. Also, have Tarquin seal her air source so she won’t do anything stupid once she wakes up. While you could also do it, his destruction energy is a better fit.” Maya bit her lips with a nod and muttered: “So she’s finally coming back…”. Maya then looked into Seth’s eyes and asked: “…will she make it, Seth?” “I don’t know. As I have told you, I broke her fire source completely and removed its influence over her, but that will not change all the damage already done. Once she wakes up, she’ll probably be heartbroken and miserable. Her pride was shattered, her oath broken, and even her freedom no longer in her hands.” “Hell, she might even think her chastity was lost, considering how our fight ended.” Maya raised an eyebrow, but Seth didn’t get too deep into it, simply saying: “Don’t worry. I didn’t do anything to her. What matters is that you must prevent her from killing herself and do everything you can to ease her suffering. If she makes it will be up to her and you.” Maya nodded, her eyes already reddening, and said: “I understand. Thank you for doing everything you could to save her, Seth.” “It was much messier than I hoped, but let’s hope everything ends well….” ((Host should hurry and break the slave marks on the ascended from Life. Ronald’s complaint to the Kingdom of Life will arrive there soon.)) Seth sighed and kissed Maya’s lips. “I want you to send Hollie to the Loss Kingdom and have Theodor declare that Loss has lost and is joining Endora as a tributary kingdom.” “Alexa should also mobilize some ascended and travel through Oath territory down to Noth. They had lost the most, and I’m sure Iwan would be more than happy to surrender. If Pain intervenes, which I doubt they will, tell Alexa she shouldn’t hold anything back. Noth is her responsibility to take over.” “I need to take care of Ava and Dan now, so I’ll be going. I’ll also leave some instructions for them and Leora. I’ll let everything else in you care.” Maya nodded and sat up, letting Seth’s rod slip up from inside her and cleaning herself. “I see. Go. I’ll take care of everything. When you come back, you’re not getting away so easily.” Seth nodded and filled the room with lust vials before saying: “These are for Katy. Tell the others I’m sorry I didn’t say hi. Also, once this war is finally settled, I plan on having all of us seclude ourselves to cultivate in one of the energy springs. Then, we’ll spend more than a few decades together in which I’ll make up for everything.” Maya nodded and kissed his lips, watching Seth cover himself in space energy and teleport away. After leaving Maya’s room, Seth arrived at Ava’s. Her eyes immediately opened when she spotted Seth and stopped cultivating as she said: “I was afraid you won’t show up.” Seth smiled and walked up to her: “You’ll learn that I tend to keep my word.” As Ava smiled, Seth surprised her by placing his hand on her chest. As she blushed, Ava looked down at his hand over her breasts and thought Seth might want to do it again when a horrible pressure washed over her, and she felt a sharp pain in her chest. Looking back at Seth in confusion, he smiled at her and said: “Congratulations, Ava. You are free.” Ava’s heart started beating wildly, and she checked her source, but she couldn’t feel her master’s energy anymore. A sudden relief and ecstasy washed over her, and the rims of her eyes turned red, but before she could speak, Seth said: “I need to remove Dan’s as well quickly.” He then teleported to Dan’s next room and repeated the process. The slight use of his divinity was quite dangerous, but Seth knew these two were still of use. When he returned to Ava, he found her lying on her back, tears flowing down her face as a broad smile was plastered on her lips. Feeling Seth return, she said: “I have waited so long for this, but now that I’m finally free… I don’t even know what to do. Haha.” Seth chuckled and said: “If you don’t have anything to do, I might have something you could help with. If you’re interested.” Ava looked up from the bed and nodded curiously, “Sure. What is it?” “I need you to take over Sorrow for me. Can you do it?” “Sorrow? Like the kingdom?” asked Ava in amazement. “Indeed. Now that the enemy alliance is broken, it’s time for us to take over. You are also quite familiar with the Kingdom, so you and Dan might quickly bring it to its knees. Ava remained silent for a while before nodding: “I can do it, but it’s too close to Soren, so I might need to tread carefully.” “Don’t worry about Life. They have their share of problems, and I’m sure Soren has other things to deal with. Also, when in Sorrow, say you are part of Endora and strong arm Lorin into surrendering himself.” After arranging up some more details, Seth had finished dealing with taking over almost every other Kingdom but two of them. Seth teleported to finish the last task he had to do in Endora after being done with Ava. This way, Seth arrived straight in Leora’s room. Leora opened her eyes from cultivation and nodded towards Seth. ‘At least she seems better.’ Thought Seth at first look before creating a map and throwing it towards her. “I have a mission for you.” Leora grabbed the map and saw it was a map of the continent. She looked at the marked route and destination before lowering the map. “Curse Kingdom? What am I supposed to do there?” “I want you to take over the kingdom.” Said Seth with a slight chuckle, making Leora’s eyes widen in surprise. “Take over? Like… conquer it? Me?” Seth nodded and said: “To be honest, that kingdom is quite the pain in the ass for me. Not even mentioning its traditions and style of life, there’s something there that will hunt me down as soon as I set foot inside, so having you do it is best for both of us.” His explanation did little to remove Leora’s confusion as she asked: “I can try, but why would it be easier for me? Also, how am I supposed to conquer an entire kingdom.” “As you travel its lands, search for women that had gathered to live in small settlements, mostly hiding in forests. Speak to them, and you’ll understand why I chose you for this job. I don’t care what you do otherwise or who you have to kill, but you have one year to take over the kingdom. Good luck.” Leora rolled her map and stood up. “I understand. Leave it to me.” Seth smiled and said: “Also, use your energy to see through every person approaching you. If they happen to use an illusion to change their looks, don’t fight or do what they tell you to. Just use your energy to confuse them and run.” Leora nodded again, and Seth wished her good luck before teleporting away. Arriving at the northern fields outside the capital, Seth took one more look at his city before starting to rush north. “I guess it’s finally time I met that bastard again.” Chapter 187: Endora’s mobilization During the following days past Seth’s return to Endora, Maya mobilized Asteria and the knight order, the kingdom’s strength slowly leaving the capital, splitting in three different directions. The largest group was heading for Oath, led by Aleena and Tiana, totaling over 2000 ascended of different tiers and affinities. Their mission involved creating a path leading to the Oath Capital from Endora’s Capital, cleansing the Oath of bandits and other criminals while also bettering the lives of the people in Oath’s cities and capital. “Haha, Tiana, we finally get some action.” Said Aleena with a large smile, looking at the equally excited ascended filling the road behind her while riding along Tiana. “Can’t wait for Seth to come back and reward us.” Said Tiana with a red face, looking no less excited than Aleena. “Oh, you only think about ***. Come on; even the mission will be fun. We’ll see many new places, fight bandits, and save damsels in distress. This is the adventure I was looking for.” Said Aleena while turning towards Tiana. Tiana shook her head, touching the collar around her neck, hidden beneath the neckline of her robe. “I don’t care about that.” Aleena snorted and turned towards the young ascended following behind them. “Spread the word back. We’re all rushing as fast as possible. We need to reach the border in a month.” As the ascended started spreading her words back down the line, Aleena turned back towards the front, hitting her horse with the sole of her feet to make it run faster, and said: “The first one to reach the border will have first take at Seth.” Tiana’s eyes seemed to brighten, and she rushed after Aleena, leaving the ascended behind with no choice but to increase their speed. ——— On a less traveled path, further south from the one Tiana and Aleena took, Leora and Alexa led a group of around 200 ascended. “Leora, are you sure you don’t need any troops?” asked Alexa as she rode beside Leora. Leora shook her head. “No need. It seems Seth wants me to do this alone. There must be a reason behind it.” “Suit yourself. Once I’m done in Noth, we’ll ride north to help you up.” “No, you need to stabilize Noth. If Seth said I can do it, I can.” Leora shook her head again, causing Alexa to sigh and nod in resignation. “But if you need help, come to look for me. I’m sure taking Noth will be a walk in the park.” Leora nodded and remained silent, not planning on relying on Alexa at all. Seeing she had fallen silent, Alexa lowered her head and asked: “Has he come for you?” Leora turned towards her with a confused expression, but after seeing Alexa’s cheeks blushing, she understood and nodded. “He did, but I turned him down.” “You did what?” exclaimed Alexa before covering her mouth with her hand, her face turning even redder than before. “I couldn’t do it.” Said Leora with a frown before rushing ahead, not wishing to continue the subject. Alexa looked at her back with a lost look before muttering: “Am I the only one he didn’t come for?” ——— Between the troops heading for Oath, Noth, and Curse, there was also a small party of two, comprised of Ava and Dan, ridding straight towards Sorrow Kingdom. “Sister, shouldn’t we hurry? Master said we need to take over Sorrow.” Asked Dan. “Shut up, you tool. We need to give the people time to turn against their king. Once Lorin is desperate, we can easily convince him to surrender. Just do as I tell you and shut up.” After Dan fell silent, Ava sighed and touched the mark on her belly. “I wish I got the chance to know him better…” ——— Towards the North, Rebecca and Katy, followed by Sal, most of his family, and an army of knights, were travailing towards Wrath at a slow pace. “Did that king really touch you?” asked Rebecca on the way, making Katy not with her head lowered. “And Seth allowed it?” asked Rebecca, even more amazed. “We were not… yet.” Said Katy with a red face. “Still. No matter, I’ll make sure to hand that bastard to you.” Said Rebecca, bringing her horse closer and patting Katy’s back. Katy shook her head and said: “I don’t care. I just want him dead and then return to Seth.” Rebecca’s eyes dimmed as she lowered her head. “Sigh… me too. It feels that ever since we left Oath, he’s always been on the run.” “Your highnesses, we should take a break to let the horses rest.” Yelled Sam from the back, making both Katy and Rebecca turn toward him. They both pulled on the reins of their horses before looking at each other and giggling. “Alright. Let’s take a break.” ——— High above Wrath, Hollie was lying on her back, reading through a thick book while flying toward Loss. “So the will fuses with the soul, slowly corrupting an ascended’s soul from the inside….” “A parasite of the soul, so to say… quite troublesome, but Seth’s perception and lust sources might be able to remove this parasite. The only problem is ensuring the energy won’t scatter after losing that will….” Closing her book and turning around, she increased her speed traveling towards Loss. “I need to get this over with fast and figure out a way to control energy without a will….” ——— On the balcony of the royal palace, Endora’s capital, Maya was sitting on a chair, an unconscious Iris lying on a small bench to the side. “Iris, why won’t you open your eyes to see it? At least use your source to hear it. The world Seth is struggling to make.” “The innocent laughter of children, the bustling sounds of people haggling in the marketplace, the happy smiles plastered on everyone’s faces.” “Wasn’t this the same dream you told me about?” she said, her voice cracking as she used her energy to absorb the tears leaving her eyes back inside her skin. “You told me once that is the Oath you remember. The Oath you used to know and wanted to recreate. Seth is the same. He has suffered probably more than any of us could even imagine.” “You know? I felt his pain. We all did. We’re all connected now by something far above simple love, and we all felt his pain for a brief moment. It brought us all to our knees.” “I don’t think it was even a fraction of the pain he’s been carrying with him, but he didn’t let it drag him down. He pushed on. For him, for us, for the world.” Bending forward and caressing her friend’s white face and ashen hair, Maya sniffled once and said: “Come join us. I convinced him to give you a spot. Please take it. You are free now, of your demons, of that horrible fate of death, of your cursed Oath. Join me, join Seth, join us. Let’s make this world the paradise we all wanted to live in.” “Wake up, dear friend. Let’s laugh again, let’s bicker again, let’s walk together forward again….” Said Maya, gently kissing Iris’s forehead. ——— Far into the East of the continent, in a bustling kingdom called the Kingdom of Sun, a pink-haired girl was using the cover of night to climb a tall wall. Platforms kept extending from the wall, supporting her graceful steps as she continued walking upwards. When she reached the top of the wall, a knife flew out of her hand, piercing the neck of a bored-looking soldier standing guard. She then walked to the opposite edge of the wall and looked down. A small hut was placed in the middle of a simple courtyard with a dim light shining through its windows. The girl brought a book out of her bag and opened it at a specific marked page, and started muttering the last line on the page. ‘The only human to rise and fight along the Council, known as the Sun of the human race, had declined the Council’s offer to leave the continent. He had decided to stay amongst his people, and a kingdom was built by his companions, named the Kingdom of Sun in his honor.’ ‘When asked to sit on the kingdom’s throne, he declined and said that his entire purpose was not to lead but to follow and protect. His official rank became the Knight of the Sun, and he had built himself a small hut in a withdrawn part of the kingdom, swearing to leave his home if the continent was in peril again.’ ‘The times changed, and so did kings. The memories of his deeds were long forgotten, and the admiration he had enjoyed was replaced by fear, skepticism, and betrayal.’ ‘His home turned into his prison, as the kings feared his eternal youth. They built walls around his home, placing guards to protect those walls, not from outsiders, but to prevent him from ever leaving.’ ‘That was the fate of the first Knight of the continent. A hero betrayed by the people he had fought to protect.’ Two teardrops fell on the white page of the book as the girl placed it back inside her bag and started walking towards the house, platforms extending under her feet once more. Once in front of the door, she took a breath and pushed it open. Inside was a simple bed, a table, and a chair. On that chair, a man’s lean and lonely back could be seen, polishing a heavy-looking shield on the table. Hearing the door open, the man slowly turned his head around, looking at his new guest. Seeing it was a petite girl, his stern face slowly moved in an attempt to smile, and he parted his dehydrated lips to speak, but no words left his parched throat. The girl at the door shook and slowly walked forward, approaching the man without fear, her eyes only containing pity and anger. “Are you sir Sun?” Chapter 188: Meeting death Endora’s armies were unleashed upon the southern side of the continent, and Seth had also begun his journey toward the Kingdom of Hope. Using the system, he was already aware of the King of Death’s plans, so Seth knew that he had to stop him, so he was moving as fast as possible, using his energy to its limit before taking a small break and starting to move again. ‘What are the chances of saving Hope?’ ((100% if the guardian approves.)) He knew threatening Noth and killing so many people would have some ramifications, but he didn’t expect everything to come so soon. By the time he had reached the City of New Hope, he was already tired of the notifications appearing on his interface. ((Ronald has been killed by ascended from The Death Kingdom.)) ((The Kingdom of Death has declared war on the Kingdom of Hope, reason - Death of the second strongest ascended in death at Hope’s hands.)) ((Death armies are marching onto Hope.)) ((The first forts had fallen on the first day of the attack.)) ((Death armies marching on the capital of Hope)) ((The hope capital has been captured, and the people surrendered.)) ((The Royal family was assassinated on the same night, leaving no royal lineage alive.)) Just as he entered the city of New Hope, it painted a clear picture of the fate that had befallen the entire kingdom. The place was almost in ruin, with people scrambling to leave before Death’s armies would also reach there. Seth ignored the chaos as he made his way toward Alice’s tavern. The tavern looked just as abandoned as the rest of the city, but Seth didn’t care as he teleported into a room deep under the tavern. As soon as he appeared, Alice was already charging toward him, wielding a spear made of destruction. Seeing who it was, she stopped in her charge but didn’t lower her spear. “It’s you.” She said, a mixed look in her eyes. Seth nodded and looked at the people gathered there. “What are you waiting for? This place is already as good as conquered. Why are you not leaving?” Alice shook her head: “We can’t. Father probably already knows about me. If I were to leave, he’d chase me wherever I go. I plan on waiting for him here and surrendering when he comes.” Seth looked once more at the people around the room. “You plan on surrendering in the hopes he’ll allow your people to leave? Haha, you think your father will allow that? Also, I know his reach has grown after the war, but you will still be safe in the south.” Alice sighed and nodded: “He will if I threaten to kill myself. I also can’t escape him now that he has started moving.” Seth sighed and shook his head: “Why don’t you travel to Endora as I told you to? That’s why I gave you the academy token in the first place. Even if he sends all his armies, he won’t make a dent in the force I gathered there.” “Because you can’t stop him either. You don’t know how he is. If he finds out where we are, he’ll come to find us even if he has to flatten your kingdom.” Seth smiled and shook his head: “You don’t know? Your father is bound to the Death Kingdom. He can only move south now because of me, but it’s not that far. Take your people and run south. Once you reach Endora, show that token to everyone you might meet, and you’ll be allowed passage.” “You can’t be sure of that, Seth. He’s - “ “It’s you who doesn’t get it, Alice. He will seal your source and kill everyone here either way. Go now. You still have about two days until he reaches here. I can guarantee that you’ll be safe. “ Alice lowered her head before looking back up and shaking her head: “I can’t. Enough people had already died because of me.” “He’s not after you this time. I’ll also delay him as much as possible, but I can’t stop him. If you leave now, you will make it past the border. He won’t enter Endora. I promise you. Just go.” “If you’re staying, I’m fighting too. My people can go, and we’ll fight him off together.” “Are you an idiot? I’m not fighting to win. I’m fighting to buy time.” “No.” Seth’s eyebrow twitched, and he teleported next to Alice, his hand grabbing onto her forehead as his destruction energy started circling her source. Blood flew down the corner of her mouth, and she fell to her knees, looking at Seth in confusion. The other people in the room all charged at him, but Seth just used his time energy to freeze them. “Sorry, Alice, but I don’t have time to keep arguing with you.” He muttered as his eyes turned black and gold, and perception flooded her system. Alice kept staring at him with tears flowing down her cheeks until the mark finally took form on her forehead, and she blanked out. Seth’s body wobbled slightly, but he managed to stabilize himself as Alice fell to the floor. Removing his destruction energy from her source, Seth turned to the other people and released his time lock. The others noticed Alice lying on the ground, and their eyes turned red as they continued the charge. Seth placed a foot on her head and looked at a middle-aged man who the system told him was the leader of all of them. “Stop and listen to me. Do you think you fools can do anything to me when I stopped Alice instantly?” Seeing Alice’s head was under his foot, they all stopped, staring daggers at Seth. “She’ll be fine, but I need you to carry her stupid ass out of this place and rush south towards the former Blood Kingdom named Endora now.” “Why would you listen to you?” asked the man Seth was looking at, deep anger evident in his voice. “Because if you don’t, your princess will die, as will all of you. I can save you all, but you need to listen to me. She’ll wake up on her own in a while, but until then, you’ll have to listen to me and carry her.” “Did I make myself clear?” asked Seth, moving his foot away from Alice’s head. He then ignored the angry looks of everyone there and knelt next to Alice. “I hope you can hear me. Head to Endora and follow Maya’s orders until I return. That’s an order.” He then stood back up and looked at that man. “It might not look like it, but I’m her friend, and I want to save her just as much as you want. I’ll count on you to rush south as fast as possible.” Seth then didn’t say anything else and teleported away, arriving deep under the New Hope city in a large cavern. There, he sat down and heaved a pained sigh. The use of his perception was slowly sapping away at his consciousness. “Walk away, seat of destruction. You are not welcome here.” A cold voice resounded from ahead of him, and Seth’ looked at the small stream of water with a wry smile. “I would like to chat, but things are quite bothersome right now. You won’t be able to protect it, and we can’t allow him to corrupt it as well. Let me take it away before he comes. There’s no hope left for this place.” A small fish flew out of the water and turned into a blue-haired woman. Her body was covered in a blue dress made out of her scales. “That is not for you to decide. There’s always hope.” “I didn’t say there’s no hope.” Said Seth, slowly sitting up. “I said there’s no hope here. Please listen to me.” The woman shook her head. “It’s too weak to move anymore. If you take him away… he will disappear.” Seth lowered his head and said: “If it stays here, it will get corrupted. Better gone than corrupted.” “I still believe.” Said the woman, starting to walk away as a wave of water pushed Seth out of the cave. He didn’t even fight back as the current pushed him out of the ground through a small geyser. “You dumb stubborn woman.” Muttered Seth, slowly rightening himself in mid-air and teleporting back to the ground. Looking far into the distance, he muttered: “What now… Both solutions involve fighting someone strong and annoying.” ((Host needs to run. He’s coming.)) Seth bit his lip and looked down at the geyser. ‘What chances do I have to protect this place?’ ((0 if you don’t use your divinity. 100% if you use your divinity, but the fight will take too long, and your source will crumble. Kronos will also probably find you.)) “God damn it, Cana.” Muttered Seth, teleporting back to the city of New Hope, right atop the northern wall. (( Host’s course of action is not advised. You can’t fight it yet.)) “We can’t allow the remaining ones to get corrupted. Life is already in their hands, and you know what the entire world has become… I can’t let him take hope as well. I’ll try to delay him, and if I can’t, I’ll destroy the treasure.” ((But this is a meaningless death. You can still fight him at a later date as long as you live, but your chances of survival are not 100% if you engage him.)) Seth chuckled and shook his head. “I can’t… If I fight Cana, he’ll come and attack us, so the best option is to fight him.” “Also, if we let hope in his hands, we might win in the end, but the entire human race will die once more… if I lose the human race, I lose my chance to ever reach the peak in perception and lust.” ((You can travel to other worlds.)) ‘How? The council doesn’t have the strength, and if I advance only in space, my other sources will crumble. My will would also get polluted again….’ ((You can have Henrietta - )) ‘No. I can’t let them breakthrough past the sixth shell yet. Not until I make sure my lust source can protect them.’ ((A sacrifice is - )) ‘Enough. I’m not sacrificing Henrietta. I’m not sacrificing anyone. There’s still a way, but it’s a gamble….’ The system fell silent, and Seth closed his eyes, waiting patiently on the city wall. People kept running south, heading as far away from the Hope Kingdom as possible. “So you’re the one.” A calm voice resounded in Seth’s ears, making him open his eyes and look forward, locking eyes with a tall, middle-aged man with sharp eyes and amethyst-colored hair. Seth sighed and jumped down from the wall, teleporting a few feet away from the man. “Thanatos.” The man smiled and bent his head to the side. “Noth has been cursing your name without stopping. You did a number on him.” “I needed him to step back a few steps.” Replied Seth, smiling back toward Thanatos. Thanatos nodded and looked down. “It’s already mine, you know? I suppose you’re here in a feeble attempt to protect it?” Seth nodded with a sigh. “Do I have a choice?” “It’s pointless, feeble God of Destruction. There’s nothing that can stop us. Noth already told me everything about you. You’re weak and incomplete. Your little tricks might work on Noth but not on me.” Seth shrugged and nodded: “I know, but I’ll still take a piece of you with me as I go down. Cana will be able to fight you off after that.” “Haha. Can she? In the end, I’m still going to win. You might have gotten a chance if you ran and waited, but with the strength you have now....” Seth lowered his head. “I have too much to lose now. Something you’ll never understand. So, Thanatos, will we keep talking, or should we get to fighting?” “Haha, fighting? This will be as easy as swatting a fly.” “Maybe, but I’m quite the persistent fly.” Seth raised his head again, his eyes slowly turning dark red. “And I’m also quite eager for a real fight.” Thanatos smiled, and the cape covering his shoulders fell to the ground as destruction energy started covering him from the feet up. “Alright. I always wanted to kill a god.” Chapter 189: Robbery Seth was about to unlock his divinity when a small sapling rose beside him, attracting both his and Thanatos’s attention. “This is not your fight yet, Seat of destruction.” Seth heaved a sigh of relief and turned around, looking at the man slowly taking form behind him. “I was wondering when you would show up, Atlas.” Said Seth with a chuckle: “Does Augur know?” “Haha, is there anything he doesn’t know?” said Atlas walking forward, his eyes locked on Thanatos. “Been a while, traitor.” Thanatos smiled despite Atlas’s words and nodded: “Atlas.” Atlas turned towards Seth: “Walk away. Tell Cana she must take away the treasure. That’s Augur’s order. I’ll hold him off.” “She said it would crumble if she moved it.” Said Seth with a shake of his head. Atlas frowned and continued walking forward, “Then let it crumble. Augur ordered that hope must not fall into their hands.” Seth also frowned, and a message appeared in his vision. ((If he fights Thanatos, there’s no chance for Atlas to survive.)) ‘What if I help?’ ((Same result. The only chance to injure Thanatos is if host fights using destruction divinity, which will most likely attract Kronos.)) Sighing, Seth asked Atlas: “Is no one else coming?” Atlas shook his head: “They can’t. Augur and I are the only ones without responsibilities, and since Augur’s vision is muddled these days, he doesn’t want to leave the others alone.” Once his words finished, his limbs turned into vines that charged toward Thanatos. An aura of destruction covered Thanatos’s body, and he slowly started walking toward Augur. Any piece of his vines that even came into contact with Thanatos kept slowly getting destroyed before it could even pass the destruction aura. All they did was force Thanatos to stop and focus on protecting himself. “Seat of destruction, what are you doing? Go and take care of the treasure.” Said Atlas in annoyance when he noticed Seth was not leaving. Seth ignored his words and kept watching the fight. ‘Thanatos is too calm. Are there any other enemies around?’ ((The death armies, but Thanatos had left them behind when he rushed here. It will take at least two days for them to arrive.)) Seth frowned and couldn’t stop a bad feeling from rising in his chest. ‘We’re missing something. Check everything. Find out what it is. He wants to take hope for himself, not let it die, so why is he only using his destruction energy?’ (( There’s nothing unusual going on. The ascended armies are far away. Atlas’s attacks pin Thanatos, but due to Noth supplying him with energy, Atlas will eventually run out of energy. The treasure is deep underneath, and Cana is sitting next to it. All other left horrors are also accounted for.)) Seth’s frown deepened as he read the system’s report. Suddenly, he understood where the bad feeling was coming from, and his eyes turned sharp. “Atlas. Buy as much time as you can.” After Atlas nodded, Seth teleported again. Not away, but deep underground, right at the edge of where the hope treasure was buried. Cana was sitting in her human form, holding a tiny seed in her hand, covered in a small bubble of water. When she felt Seth’s arrival, she turned towards him and asked: “What are you doing here?” “Why?” asked Seth, slowly walking towards her. “Why what?” asked Cana with a confused expression, letting the seed drift back and standing up. “Why have you betrayed the Council?” Cana shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re speaking about, seat of destruction, and if you don’t leave now, I’ll throw you out again.” “You don’t? Thanatos and Atlas are fighting right above, and you’re sitting here, caressing the treasure like it’s your lover? The enemy is in sight, so why are you not helping your teammate? You know that if Atlas fails, you’ll be next.” “What if others sneak in here and steal it from under our noses?” “Shut up, Cana. We both know no other horrors are moving about. You’re sitting here guarding the seed of hope for Thanatos. That’s why you refused to leave, not because it is too weak. When and why have you betrayed the Council?” Cana’s smile faded, and she waved her hand toward Seth. A wave left her hand, rushing straight towards him. Seth teleported out of her attack range and asked again: “Why Cana? Why did you betray the council?” Cana’s betrayal bothered Seth because something like this didn’t happen in his past timeline. She had kept guard of the seed of hope until her entire lifespan had disappeared. Both she and the treasure were eventually lost. Cana shrugged, and slowly her human body turned into pure and clear water, mixing with the water around the cave. “Because of you, Seat of destruction. The war you had orchestrated wiped away the hope of billions of people. It also allowed Thanatos’s influence to spread even here to Hope. I didn’t lie when I said he was dying; that’s why I made a deal with Thanatos.” “As long as Thanatos keeps him alive, I don’t care if he’s converted to the horrors side. I don’t care about the human race or the Council. I only care that he gets to live.” “You dumb, idiotic woman…” muttered Seth with a frown, destruction energy covering his body. Cana charged right at him the next moment, waters rising from all corners of the cave, rushing at Seth along with her. Seth kept teleporting out of the way, pushing his destruction source to the maximum as he appeared above Cana’s water body and sent a wave of destruction straight down. The wave cut a hole through Cana’s body, but the water continued rushing towards him from all sides. ((Thanatos had started fighting using the treasure. Atlas won’t last long.)) ‘Find me a way to win this. She’s weak, but there’s no way I can win against a water demigod.’ Said Seth as he kept using his destruction energy to push back her attacks, but the difference in the amount of energy at their disposal was too far big. He knew he would be the first one to fall. ((She’s moving the fight away from the seed. Focus on destroying it first.)) Seth looked to the side and noticed the seed floating into a thin water bubble. ‘She’s protecting it. This idiot really fell for a collective will.’ Smiling, Seth teleported right next to the seed, and his eyes flashed deep red. He pointed his hand towards the seed floating in the water bubble and said: “STOP.” All the water around stopped instantly, and Cana’s voice resounded again. “You’re bluffing.” “Am I? We both know my divinity will still pierce through even if you reinforce this shield. The seed is better dead than in Thanatos’s hands, so you tell me if I’m bluffing.” Cana rematerialized and looked at Seth with hatred-filled eyes. “What do you want? If you take it away, it will die. If you attack, I’ll detonate my core and bury you here with me. Even if you somehow survive, Thanatos will finish you off. “ Seth looked at the seed and the crazy look in Cana’s eyes before saying: “Then I guess we’ll have to see.” “NO!” yelled Cana, dropping to her knees. All the water around turned into energy and entered her body. “I BEG YOU, STAY YOUR HAND. I LOVE HIM.” Seth stopped his attack and looked between Cana and the tiny seed floating in the water bubble. “Even if I pity you and what your loneliness did to you, I can’t let it fall into Thanatos’s hands. If you don’t have a way, I can take it out of here; it’s getting destroyed.” Said Seth. Cana raised her teary eyes, looking into Seth’s as she said:" Can’t you please let us be happy? What if Thanatos takes over the hope of the human race?" “Have you gone mad, Cana? Have you forgotten what happened when the last treasure was corrupted?” “So what? Did the humans become less when they lost their immortality? They gain a purpose in seeking it again through ascension. It only made them stronger.” “Are you out of your mind? Their immortality has given birth to the strongest horror there is. The only horror that still walks this continent. They were also left with a small lifespan, but if their hope turns into hopelessness… can you imagine what that would do to them? It will crumble the entire race.” “At least if a treasure is destroyed, all that will giving it form returns to them, but if it’s corrupted, the entire human race will become hopeless. Even their souls might leave them. Can you even hear what you’re speaking?” Seeing Cana open her mouth again, Seth’s eyes turned dark red. Noticing this, Cana said: “Wait. There’s a way to keep it alive.” Seth stopped again and said: “Speak.” “If I seal it away. My power should be able to keep him alive for a while longer, but you still need to find a host…” “Then do it.” Said Seth while looking upwards. “We don’t have that much time left.” Cana bit her lip and slowly walked towards the seed. Seth observed her, taking a step back in case she suddenly attacked. Cana stopped right before the seed, gently grabbing it in her hand. She didn’t say a single word and just brought the tiny seed to her lips, kissing it gently as her entire body slowly disappeared from the feet up. A small blue sphere formed around the seed of hope when her body was completely gone. ‘Is she dead?’ ((Affirmative.)) Seth nodded and grabbed the frozen sphere. “She gave her life for it. What a crazy woman…” muttered Seth before not wasting a moment more and teleporting outside. The entire city was gone, consumed by an eerie dark green light pushing against a wall of transparent vines extending as high as the eyes could see. Space was crumbling and mending on repeat around the two energies. Even if it looked impressive, the vines wall was slowly getting consumed by the ever-extending dark green light. “Been a while since I saw two demigods going all out. Thank you for your sacrifice.” Muttered Seth, looking away from the fight and focusing on running as far as possible. ‘How far do I need to get to be safe?’ ((The corrupted treasure has lost a great deal of its strength. He might still be able to reach the border with Loss, but even that will burden it greatly.)) “The border with Loss? I killed too many people in this war….’ ((Host doesn’t have to worry. This fight with Atlas has sapped much of that energy, and this conclusion is still better in the long run.)) ‘I know, but two more Council members were lost.’ Seth kept traveling, pushing his space source to exhaustion. Once out of space energy, he drank an energy vial to recover as he watched a giant dark-green skull moving towards him from the back. ((Thanatos is killing humans on the way and using their death to support his advance.)) “Haha, at least I made him quite mad. This will further strain his treasure.” ((Affirmative, but after failing, he will probably mobilize the ascended inside his domain to move on Endora.)) ‘You’re wrong. That would be stupid. With Noth injured and him wasting all the power he gained from the war, doing that will only further his losses. He’ll retreat. He knows that if Tarquin lost to me, the others stand no chance.’ ((According to my simulations, the chance of him retreating is under 40%)) “You’re wrong. I know Thanatos well enough to understand how he thinks. He will never take such a huge risk.” Chapter 190: A breath spanning over five years After finally returning to the lands of Loss, Seth stopped teleporting and allowed himself to fall on the soft grass underneath, sighing in relief. Looking at the dark green sun above, he asked: “He can’t reach me now, can he?” ((Affirmative. You are out of his influence range.)) Seth smiled and closed his eyes. “Are the takeovers going as planned?” ((Affirmative.)) “What is Pearl doing?” ((Living with the Knight of Sun.)) “Olivia?” ((She has successfully run away from the palace in Pain. She’s searching for the Guardian of Darkness)) “Alice’s group?” ((They had made their way towards Oath and are still in the territory of Hope, but Thanatos has been busy chasing after you, so they will be fine.)) “Then I guess it’s fine for me to rest.” Said Seth, closing his eyes and allowing the bliss of unconsciousness to take him. The last few months, he had been in a constant rush, and he felt the tiredness of all that running finally catching up to him. ((Host stop.)) Even the system’s warning fell on deaf ears. —— “Wake up, master. Wake up.” A timid voice attracted Seth’s attention, and he opened his eyes to see a small child looking at him with a curious gaze. Seth frowned, not recognizing the little girl at all. ‘System? What happened? Where am I?’ After receiving no answer from the system, he quickly realized he was not in the material world. Standing up and looking at the child, Seth asked: “Who are you?” “I’m your humble servant, master. You don’t recognize me?” Seth shook his head: “I can’t say that I do. What’s your name?” The girl looked into Seth’s eyes and shook his head: “I don’t remember.” “Then how do you know that I am your master?” “Because master is master.” Replied the little girl, making Seth chuckle. Seth tried to feel the space around him and was sure he was inside his soul, at least inside a part of it, but as to who that girl was, he had no idea. From the feeling the girl gave him, Seth figured it must be his perception will’s manifestation. Seth rubbed the girl’s head and asked: “Do you know how long I’ve been asleep and how we got here?” Shaking his head, the girl said: “Master was already asleep when I woke up.” “You said that you don’t remember your name? What can you remember then?” Lowering his head, the girl muttered: “I don’t know. Darkness… I was in a cold and dark place until my master took me from there. Master was warm and full of light. Master also pushed away the voices.” Chuckling, Seth rubbed the girl’s head some more: “Then you must have had a horrible dream. What did those voices say?” “I don’t remember, but they seem sad… lost.” Seth looked at the girl with a sigh before turning around to walk away: “Come on.” The girl started following after him and asked: “Where are we going, master?” “Out.” Said Seth, the space around him disappearing with his words. He was once more in the open field he had fallen asleep on, but if he were to notice a change, it was the dried-up grass all around and the saggy and wet clothes on his body. His body also seemed to have been pulled into the soft ground. “You finally woke up.” A tired voice rang behind Seth, making him turn around to look at a small worm floating behind him. “How long was I out?” asked Seth, ignoring the flying worm while sitting up, but the worm’s words made Seth’s face twitch. “Five years and change.” ‘System?’ ((Affirmative. Your soul was in hibernation for five years.)) ((Our link to past records has also returned)) Seth immediately thought about something and reached into his pocket, but nothing was there anymore. Frowning, he turned towards the worm: “Don’t tell me that thing fused with me?” “It did.” “Fuck.” Swore Seth. “I know I had to destroy it.” “Haha,” the worm laughed as he floated around Seth. “I never thought I’ll see a god lose his composure like this.” “Fuck you too.” Said Seth. The work kept laughing as he disappeared in front of Seth’s eyes, his words drifting around even after he was long gone. “Curse all you want, Seat of destruction. You are the only hope the human race has now.” “Annoying worm.” ‘System, what happened with the hope seed?’ ((As the treasure of hope has left its binding place, the seal created by the Guardian of Water weakened, and the hope of the human race fused completely with your soul in an attempt to survive.)) ‘I should have destroyed it when I had the chance. I didn’t need a collective will polluting my soul even more.’ ((Why is host so against it? A way of killing horrors without using your divinity is not a bad thing.)) ‘Not a bad thing? It’s fine if the host is a human or ascended, but I also have a divinity. Adding a collective human will to all that mess is not something I wanted or needed. The sensible balance I create is now in danger. It will be a pain in the ass when I break the sixth shell...’ Without a way to change what was already out of his control, Seth could only accept it and move on. What mattered most was the time he was unconscious. ‘Is everyone alright?’ ((Affirmative. All the girls had succeeded in their missions. Maya united all the Kingdoms under your control and formed the Endora Empire. Also, they’ve been recruiting ascended as fast as possible, planning to launch a full-on attack on the Death Kingdom, which has already annexed Hope’s territory.)) Seth heaved a sigh of relief: ‘As long as they are fine... I was afraid they marched on Death." ((Maya wanted to do it, but she gave up under Hollie and Alice’s insistence. She has been training and having mock battles with Tarquin, who was one of Thanatos’s disciples, but since Maya couldn’t do anything against him, she decided she would only move when she could fight Tarquin to a draw.)) ‘Where is Maya right now?’ ((Still in the capital of Endora, not wishing to be somehow missing if you return.)) ‘What about the others?’ (( They’ve been managing the rest of the Empire. Except Katy, who is currently also living in Endora.)) Seth’s face paled as he asked: “Living? Is she fine?” ((Yes, Hollie had used the information from the future she saw in your memories and worked with Maya to place her in cryogenic sleep.)) Seth sighed and started rushing south: “These two picked up the slack this time. I need to see Maya….” --- When he finally arrived at Endora’s capital, Seth barely recognized the place. The houses had turned into full-blown apartment buildings, wide asphalted streets had replaced the most stone and marble paths from before, and he had to teleport for ten minutes until he could pass all the crop fields surrounding the capital. “It looks like they did just fine without me.” Muttered Seth with a chuckle. ((Human technology is still not up to par, but creation ascended had been working full time in raising the city you see now. The other Kingdoms are also slowly catching up, but Maya has requested Endora to become the development priority.)) Seth didn’t ask anything else and started teleporting toward the city’s center, where the only two buildings that had not changed were. Those were Asteria and the Imperial Palace. After a few more blinks, he arrived inside the palace’s back garden, where the system had informed him Maya was. Taking a deep breath, he changed his clothes to a more casual look and slowly walked towards a small table at the center of the garden. As he got closer, Seth saw two women staring back at him with mixed expressions on their faces. From the moment Seth had arrived in the garden, Iris had heard his footsteps and turned to look towards him with an ashen face while Maya had followed her gaze of curiosity. The familiar rhythm of those footsteps, a sight Maya had dreamed of seeing for the last five years, was now entering her eyes again. Even from a distance, she already knew who it was, and now that her dreams and hopes were slowly walking towards her, Maya could only stay there, frozen. As Seth got closer, she could see the face that would appear whenever she closed her eyes. His symmetrical face, high cheekbones, and hazel eyes she used to lose herself in were filled with love, regret, and guilt. It was him. It was Seth. He was back. Maya wanted to rush up to him, to kiss him, to love him, to hit him, to yell at him, to have him pay and make up for all those tears that had comforted her to sleep every lonely night. But, alas, her body didn’t move. She felt like her own source had betrayed her, freezing her into that cursed bench, not allowing her to move a single muscle. She felt her cheeks getting moist as she stared unblinkingly at the man walking closer to her. Seth arrived in front of her, not sparing Iris a single glance, and parted his lips to speak, but out of all the words he thought about on the road, none came out. A few months had passed for him, but he knew how much those five years had hurt Maya. He didn’t need the records or the system to know her heart must have been in pain every moment she knew nothing about him, and he knew that no words would be able to make up for all that. Maya also opened her mouth to speak, her face already contorted in a mix between pain and relief, but words also failed her. The two just stayed there, staring into each other’s eyes, the words they wanted to say to the other too heavy for their lips to speak. After a long time, Seth moved forward again, breaking the ice holding Maya captive by pulling her into her arms, hugging her body hard in his arms. “I love you.” He muttered in her ear. “I’m sorry.” “I’m back.” It was all he could say. It was the best way he knew to express what he was feeling. Maya’s body jerked, and her hands started shaking as she clasped onto the opening of his jacket, a soft wail of sorrow leaving her throat. Her cry broke Seth’s heart, his eyes reddening as he strengthened his hold over Maya. The garden’s serenity was broken as Maya cried five years of sorrow away into her lover’s arms. The fear, uncertainty, desire, melancholy, and yearning all broke free from her soul, drenching Seth’s shoulder in a torrent of tears. Seth’s eyes also couldn’t hold back the tears forming inside, silently holding his lover in his arms, cursing the day he decided to try to save hope, wishing he would have just destroyed it and be done with it. Iris had silently flown away, leaving the Emperor and Empress of Endora to cry their woes in the Imperial Garden.