Alaya had scoffed at him, saying he didn't know his place.
The church priest said the resistance was nothing to fear.
However,
As the statues of Alaya began to splinter, the followers were overcome with fear; despair descended unexpectedly, and the Pope wept, his face in his hands.
On that day,
The glory of Alaya's faith was lost.
The shattered temple became a ruin of history.
The religion supported by the god's faith collapsed; the followers pleaded for Alaya's oracle, but received only a sky filled with pitch-black blood.
That dark, foul blood.
Flowing into the rivers and mountains of the land.
Swallowing the entire Alaya Holy State whole.
Year 1068 of the Era of Gods and Kings.
The Alaya Holy State was destroyed.
HUM—
A brilliant light radiated within the void. Mei extended her hand, letting the Subjective Aspect settle in her palm. That faint vibration surrounding it had reached the Tier 3 level.
[Upgrade Task 3 · Completed]
[Acquired: Transfinite Fusion 1]
[Transfinite Fusion Count: 1]
Following Gilbert and Stella, Visad was the third-generation host of the Subjective Aspect. He believed he had never been favored by the gods, but in reality, that wasn't the case.
Mei had recognized his potential a thousand years ago.
Sosion was right that Visad didn't know his limits, but unfortunately for him, there was a variable in this world that surpassed him. Visad's immense conviction and willpower, through the Subjective Aspect, had broken through to Tier 3.
Achieving an unprecedented feat.
Ending Alaya's faith.
Sosion had always believed he was clashing with the Mother God behind Antut. In reality, Mei had never spared him a thought; Visad being the third-generation host was fated.
Defeating Sosion was simply what Visad had to do; Sosion's involvement was merely an insignificant speck of dust in the vast web of causality.
RUMBLE!
The pitch-black, foul blood surged across the earth. Mei stood atop a mountain, gazing out at the land stained with darkness, radiating absolute stillness.
She closed her hand.
The Subjective Aspect's vibrations vanished.
With that,
"Time for the fourth host."
The world seemed to halt for a heartbeat, and then Mei was gone.
...
SQUELCH!
A sharp longsword swung down, severing a wolf radiating a pitch-black aura in two, its warm blood spraying into the air.
AWOO—
AWOO!!
Night fell.
The pack surrounded him, their ferocious eyes like flames igniting the darkness. A pile of wolf carcasses lay before Hlevi, his brow furrowed.
"These wolves... something's wrong."
Ever since that foul black water had flowed across the land, everything within the Alaya Holy State, both human and animal, had become abnormal.
"Go, get out of here first!"
He turned to the villagers behind him and gave a sharp command. Once they had put enough distance between themselves, he immediately let loose. In a heartbeat, invisible strikes slashed through the wolves, slaughtering them all.
He sheathed his sword.
Hlevi examined the carcasses; without a doubt, these wolves were far stronger than normal, and their blood was tainted with a dark hue.
His expression grew even more grave.
"What exactly is going on?"
The Alaya Holy State's destruction was a fact for everyone to see, and the collapse of the faith meant Alaya had surely met with a disaster.
Otherwise, none of this would have happened.
Before long,
Some began to proclaim that they had killed a god with a human body, that Alaya had been pinned to his throne and humans had personally dragged him down.
Just as Visad said, they were unknown, unmourned, and uncelebrated; they had opened a new era, but the vision of a beautiful world wouldn't arrive so quickly.
Alaya's black blood contaminated all life within the Holy State. As time passed and blood was spilled, it began to silently spread across the entire land.
Hlevi wasn't the first to notice this anomaly, but he didn't know what it meant, nor did he have the power to stop the spread of the black blood.
...
Year 1187 of the Era of Gods and Kings.
The second god to fall at the hands of a human appeared. Bizarrely, after his death, the hero who killed him found a trace of dark energy in his own blood.
Unable to destroy the god's corpse, the hero buried it deep within the earth.
...
Two hundred years later.
The god's corpse returned from the realm of death, erupting from the earth and turning the land it once ruled into a living hell. The third hero died in battle, only managing to severely wound the god's corpse.
When Hlevi stepped onto this land, all he saw was a wasteland of twisted, evil, desperate, and mad scenes.
A mother and her child were screaming in despair, pursued by villagers with knives and pitchforks. Hlevi saved them, but in doing so, he came face-to-face with the god's corpse.
Even severely wounded and with its strength greatly diminished, the god's corpse was still a Tier 3. Hlevi used all his strength but couldn't win, finding no hope.
Stillness.
Desolation.
On the earth stained black with blood,
The god's corpse surged with dark energy, as if gathering all the world's hatred and filth. Its immense pressure shadowed the world, leaving only infinite despair.
Hlevi, wounded so severely there was no uninjured part on his body, dropped to one knee, blood flowing freely. Though he still gripped his sword, he no longer had the strength to lift it.
HUM—
The god's corpse raised a single finger, its feet treading on innocent flesh and blood as it prepared to deliver the final blow to Hlevi with the contempt shown toward an ant.
"Huff—"
Hlevi's only response was heavy, labored breathing, his consciousness beginning to fade.
A pity.
If only he were a bit stronger.
The thought flashed through his mind for an instant.
The sky.
The earth.
Wind and fire.
Water and dust.
Everything froze.
A figure appeared before Hlevi. He used his remaining strength to look up, his pupils shrinking as a long-buried memory surged from the depths of his mind.
The night the Berkeley family was brutally slaughtered, the golden-haired, blue-eyed boy had fled in terror and tears. That night, he had met this person.
The indescribable coldness.
The transcendence and indifference toward everything.
The past and present converged; the causal link spanning spacetime was completed. Mei said nothing, only extending her hand.
A brilliant radiance flashed.
The Subjective Aspect entered Hlevi's body.
When time resumed, a massive power erupted, instantly pushing Hlevi to Tier 3. A holy radiance pierced the clouds, shattering the gloom and dispersing all traces of dark energy.
The sword sang.
Hlevi's gaze sharpened again, his wounds closing as he stood and drew his sword. Wherever the holy radiance touched, all filth was purified.
This was Hlevi's subjective power trait.
Sanctity that could purify all.
...
His sword pierced the god's corpse, pinning it to the ground. Having reached Tier 3, Hlevi possessed unprecedented power, but as he looked out across the land, it was a desolate sight.
He withdrew his sword.
Under the holy radiance, the god's corpse turned to dust.
Reduced to nothing.
The dark energy latent within the corpse radiated intense hatred and obsession, like the screams of countless people, before finally falling silent.
Hlevi had so many questions. Who was the person who gave him this power? A god? What was their motive—using him to eliminate other gods?
And...
Which god was that?
Did they have anything to do with the destruction of the Berkeley family?
Countless mysteries plagued Hlevi, but the most pressing issue was the black blood. Unknowingly, it had already corrupted the god's corpse.
If every fallen god was corrupted by the black blood, the consequences would be unimaginable; the entire land would turn into a true hell.
While it wasn't Hlevi's responsibility, he couldn't stand by and let the people fall into depravity and death in despair.
Hlevi retraced his steps, wanting to find the surviving mother and child, but when he saw them again, they were already twisted and mad.
They too had been corrupted by the black blood.
"..."
A boundless rage erupted within Hlevi. He didn't know how many people had been corrupted by the black blood; he couldn't save everyone.
He cast his holy light, purifying the black blood in the mother and child. They immediately regained their reason, weeping with gratitude for Hlevi saving their lives.
They could still be saved!
Hlevi let out a massive sigh of relief.
He believed his holy light could purify all the black blood and save this land from turning into a hell, until he reached another town.
The people there were more mad, twisted, and cruel than anyone Hlevi had seen; their bodies and souls were completely corrupted by the black blood.
Their wounds seeped pitch-black blood, without a trace of red.
Hlevi tried to use his holy light to purify them, but the result was that they suffered immensely and were completely dissolved by the holy light.
They were so thoroughly corrupted they could no longer be considered human. A sense of helplessness washed over Hlevi, and he felt a sliver of despair.
"Can this world still be saved?"
He didn't know.
He was just doing his best, saving the lives he could, using all his strength to purify the black blood.
Hlevi didn't want to look around and find that he was the only rational being left on this mad and twisted land. He didn't know what value or meaning such a world would have.
However,
The arrival of despair did not slow.
He arrived at a new town.
"Is anyone there?"
Hlevi looked around; his only response was twisted figures huddled in the shadows. Faces wore strange smiles, and dark energy flickered.
"Is anyone still there?"
"Are there any survivors?"
His calls echoed as he passed through villages and towns. Sometimes he found towns beyond help, where he had to purify those completely corrupted by the black blood; but most could still regain their reason through his holy light.
He traveled the land.
Purifying those corrupted by the black blood, slaying the corrupted gods—he never seemed to tire, believing the world could still be saved.
Even if there were only a sliver of hope, Hlevi wouldn't give up.
One day,
Familiar faces appeared before Hlevi—this time, all he saw was madness and deformity. In his holy light, these people dissolved into nothing.
Hlevi looked back and realized his actions seemed meaningless; the entire world had been swallowed by the black blood.
Gods.
Kings.
All corrupted.
He looked around.
The sky was darkened, and the earth was stained with blood and fire. Only despair remained in this world of absolute stillness, leaving Hlevi lost and unsure of where to go.
"What meaning is there left in a world like this?"
"Brother!"
A familiar, high-pitched voice called out behind him. Hlevi turned and saw the mother and daughter he had once saved. The girl cheered and ran forward, throwing herself into Hlevi's embrace.
A sharp pain pierced his chest.
Hlevi looked down, finding the mother and daughter before him weeping tears of pitch-black blood. The girl smiled a grotesque, distorted smile, the dagger in her hand buried deep within his chest.
His expression remained stoic, though his fury was reaching its absolute breaking point.
GURGLE...
Black blood erupted from the earth. The corpses of gods and kings converged under the shadow of the sludge, knitting themselves together into a bizarre, mangled form. The mouths of the dead spoke in unison, their hollow voices weaving into a tone Hlevi knew all too well.
"Hlevi, my Holy Son..."
"??!!"
Hlevi was stunned beyond words.
He stared at the twisted mass before him in disbelief. "Sosion?!"
Indeed, it was Sosion.
If he'd had a choice, he wouldn't have clung to life in this state. But having been cornered, he had been forced to seek resurrection through the medium of the black blood.
In that regard, he had succeeded.
Furthermore, he was likely on the verge of touching the Tier 4 level.
As for his horrific, distorted form, he didn't much care. Resurrection always demanded a price; he had long ago steeled his resolve.
"The old world is on the verge of destruction. I am the supreme, ultimate god of the new world. Hlevi, swear your fealty to me once more, and together we shall rule this new world %#￥#%&..."
The voices of the gods and kings grew increasingly garbled and discordant, turning into an unstoppable mental pollution that struck directly at Hlevi's mind, making him grimace in pain.
"I refuse!"
Without a second thought, Hlevi drew his longsword. An unquenchable fire of rage burned in his eyes. "If I had known the Alaya I worshipped was such an evil entity, I would have killed you with my own hands long ago!"
The earth had become a purgatory.
The tragic scenes he had witnessed were etched into his mind, breaking every boundary of what Hlevi, as a human, could tolerate. Alaya's actions had utterly shattered his moral compass.
"Hlevi!"
"Brother!"
"Son..."
Faces emerged from Sosion's black blood—the parents and siblings from Hlevi's childhood memories. Sosion hadn't given up, unaware that this tactic only fueled Hlevi's fury.
"My Holy Son, if you swear fealty to me again, you shall see your parents and siblings in the new world, mending your greatest regret..."
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!"
BOOM!
A blindingly brilliant holy light surged into the heavens. Boundless rage transformed into radiant splendor. Hlevi was incandescent with fury, his aura skyrocketing as he hissed through gritted teeth, "How dare you defile the souls of my family!!!"
The temptation failed.
Sosion felt a pang of regret.
Suddenly, the black blood churned, blanketing the earth. Countless figures crawled out from within—Hlevi's family, the mother and daughter he had saved, and myriad familiar and unfamiliar faces.
"Sir Knight!"
"Brother!"
"Son..."
"Lord Holy Son!"
A tide of shadowy figures from the black blood swarmed Hlevi. He wasn't just fighting Sosion; he was fighting every person who had ever lived on this land.
The sunset was as red as blood.
Sosion controlled everything on this earth. Abandoning non-violent means to sway Hlevi, he manifested as the very veins of the world. The twisted limbs of gods and kings stretched out, resembling a World Tree rooted in the soil.
Cold.
Twisted.
Eerie.
He was the personification of all the world's evil.
"Then let the children of the new world judge you. I wonder if you can strike down your own friends and family from days past. Let me see your resolve..."
Faced with the boundless black tide,
The voices of his former kin and friends merged into a chaotic, nonsensical roar, violently assaulting Hlevi's mind and soul.
However,
This only served as fuel for Hlevi's fire. In that moment, Hlevi's rage and his hatred for Alaya broke all limits.
BOOM!
Pure.
Immense.
Untainted holy light erupted, purifying the black blood across the land in an instant. Hlevi tore through his despair and descended in a brand-new form.
The Realm of Tier 4!
Once,
He believed this world could still be saved.
Once,
He had tried to do everything in his power to rescue everyone.
But the result was absolute despair. This world was beyond saving; there was no point in rescuing or redeeming this hopeless era.
Looking at the faces within the black tide, the people he had once known, now completely corrupted, Hlevi's eyes turned a pure, solid white beneath the holy light.
Not a single trace of emotion could be found.
He pointed his sword at Sosion.
"Using the very doctrines you once set as a sword of judgment, Alaya... You are an Evil God! I hereby pass the final judgment upon you. You... are GUILTY!"
Then, looking at those corrupted by the black blood,
Hlevi passed judgment on them all as well.
"Humans... you are GUILTY!"
This world was no longer worth saving.
So,
Everyone... just die.
Pristine, holy light blanketed the heavens and the earth, purifying and dissolving every trace of black blood and every corrupted soul. Wherever it touched, vitality was restored.
Confronted with Hlevi's ascension, Sosion was stunned. He looked up at the figure in the sky radiating infinite light, momentarily lost.
It wasn't until the holy light began to purify him that the agonizing pain snapped him back to reality. He wasn't shocked that Hlevi had gained such immense power upon reaching Tier 4.
It was his method of ascension that felt so familiar.
Gilbert.
Visad.
He knew this form of subjective power all too well. Familiar enough that Sosion couldn't possibly be mistaken. Only then did he realize that he had been set up the entire time.
"It's you!"
"It's you, isn't it?!"
"Gilbert, Visad, and now Hlevi... you planned it all, didn't you? This irrational method of ascension has always been your handiwork!!"
Sosion roared hoarsely.
He desperately reached out, trying to grasp the brilliance in the sky, as if he could finally touch the one he had always considered his rival.
He never imagined he'd be played so thoroughly from start to finish.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Under Hlevi's judgment, Sosion let out a desperate laugh, screaming madly at Hlevi: "Hlevi! Do you even know who gave you this power? Do you know that the Gilbert who slaughtered your family once held this power? Do you know that the one who forced me into this form once held this power?!"
"You and I are both pawns!"
"Being manipulated the entire time!"
"Can you really tolerate your entire life being a puppet's dance? Find the one who gave you that power... and KILL THEM!!!"
Infinite light showered down, swallowing everything.
Sosion's voice cut off abruptly.
When the light finally subsided,
The land returned to its former silence.
Hlevi gazed over the earth. The Era of Gods and Kings was over. Alaya had ended the gods and kings, and Hlevi had ended Alaya, purifying every drop of black blood.
However,
He had also brought everything to an end.
The silence between heaven and earth left Hlevi bewildered. The holy radiance receded from his eyes, replaced by a surging tide of suppressed, infinite pain and grief.
He said not a word, wandering the land alone. The villages and towns of old were empty; the once-prosperous metropolises were now mere expanses of broken walls and desolate ruins.
From sunset until dawn.
Until the first light of daybreak showered the ruins, illuminating the shattered earth, and the sharp, resonant cry of an infant echoed between the sky and the ground.
Hlevi's body jolted. The hollow, lost look in his eyes finally regained its focus. He hurriedly tore through the debris and pulled a wailing infant from the wreckage.
Two tracks of tears glistened.
Hlevi broke down in loud, unrestrained sobs.
Year 1546 of the Era of Gods and Kings.
Concluded.
...
The dawn broke. Birds flapped their wings across the sky. Clear river water reflected the silhouettes of swimming fish. A deer nibbled on leaves, then fled in fright at the slightest sound.
The sky remained as it was.
The wind and water flowed without stopping.
Years surged forward toward an even more distant future. Hlevi unrolled the parchment in his hand, turning the wilderness into fields and the ruins into homes.
An unknown amount of time passed.
A gentle breeze brushed through the golden wheat fields. Children ran and cheered. The land grew lively and prosperous once more, as buildings rose from the earth, radiating the light of civilization yet again.
The seashore.
Waves slapped against the rocks with a loud, rhythmic sound. Inside a massive, ancient structure came the CLINK-CLINK-CLINK of metal. Old Man Fu held his hammer and chisel, carving a new chapter following the finale of the gods and kings.
As a Tier 3 lifeform, his lifespan was exceedingly long. Compared to the fleeting history of ordinary human civilizations, he was fully qualified to witness everything alongside time itself.
"In just a few thousand years, the Tier 3s on this land have been almost entirely wiped out. I've never seen a scene like this before, though I'm not surprised you're the one left standing."
Old Man Fu spoke up.
Mei stood by the wall, examining the history Fu had etched into the stone. She wasn't entirely sure what other mission worlds were like, but this was her usual style.
Besides, the primary culprits behind this outcome were Alaya and the others; she hadn't interfered much with their causality, nor did she care to manipulate the thoughts or wills of others.
"I've grown quite used to scenes like this."
"..."
Old Man Fu said nothing.
What on earth had happened in this person's previous mission worlds? Even now, Fu still didn't know the full extent of Mei's strength.
He asked Mei: "You seem quite free. Don't you plan to personally step onto the field and chase time for a bit? Always watching other people's history from the sidelines is bound to get boring."
"Depends on my mood."
The moment she spoke, the future Fu had envisioned underwent a degree of shifting and blurring. A single sentence from Mei had deviated the course of civilization and history. Fu was struck with awe; just what level of being was this person?
It looked like she was truly prepared to enter the fray herself.