Elyonari's scream made the green flames quiver in response.
"WHY?! Why are you doing all of this? Why did you let the Krepsunas attack the Borough? Why are your flames covering the entire Borough? Why did you kill every servant of the Ancient Temple of Mintherenia? Why—why is Aria like that? Why is she suspended in the air and suffering endlessly?"
Her voice cracked as tears fell freely. A second wave of horror hit her as her gaze fell on the silver coffin.
"AND WHY IS MY BROTHER IN THAT COFFIN? JUST WHY?!"
Her scream echoed across the burning temple, mingling with the tortured cries of the people outside. Veneri's hands were clenched so tightly it could have cracked stone.
Arthrea's laughter was so loud that the temple itself shook.
"I am doing this for a very good reason, dear Daughter. I am going to make another child. You… you were a disappointment. Your brother faded before my very eyes. He was supposed to ascend, to become a Sixth Enlightenment Divine before the Nexuses are to be exiled by the world and he failed. He died under Forced Ascension."
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
"He was insignificant! Now he will serve his purpose, just like I used my parents' corpses to make you and your sibling. Their flesh was harnessed to create life according to my will. And he will be no different. His body will create another child for me."
"The World Tree won't allow this. You killed millions for this? Were you the one responsible for the attack in one of the Villages four years ago?!"
"I was. But I underestimated the Elves' weakness. They're fragile and your foolish little friends are irrelevant. You transferred the souls to the World Tree. Years of my efforts, wasted was stripped from you."
Elyonari's tears fell freely and for a moment she let the grief wash over her. Her hands gripped her bow with a ferocity that threatened to snap the weapon itself. She summoned a single arrow. Emerald light coiled along the shaft, humming with her concentrated Nature Energy. Her hands shook violently.
"Even as a Grandmaster and as an Essentia, you are not strong enough. You can't even scratch me. And even if you tried, even if you shot, you would fail. You have always been a good person. You have chosen the good side, even when your life was nothing but suffering. But goodness does not save you here. It never has."
"FUCK YOU!"
"Are you going to shoot, child? I'm waiting."
Elyonari hesitated. Her eyes flicked to the floating, wounded, mumbling form of Aria. The High Priestess was not dead.
Her lips moved, whispering something in a tone barely audible. Elyonari seemed to understand what she was saying and she closed her eyes.
Her hands no longer trembled. She released the arrows. Thirteen arrows shot forward.
Twelve struck Arthrea, each deflected by her mother's fingers with shockingly precise force. Arthrea's eyes widened for the first time revealing surprise and uncertainty as the arrows pinged off her fingers.
The thirteenth arrow collided with the apex of Arthrea's concentration, cutting clean through her defenses and struck Aria's head.
Blood merged in a fountain of emerald-stained red as the High Priestess's final scream was torn apart.
We were standing behind Ely, watching the aftermath of everything that had happened. Arthrea moved at a pace so fast not even Veneri could see her. She was going to kill Ely.
But then, everything froze.
Arthrea stopped mid-step. Her eyes widened as she stared at Elyonari's face. It wasn't just a face full of grief, or sorrow, or anger. It was every emotion twisted together. Rage, malice, heartbreak, sorrow, power, all of it burned in Ely's eyes. Her teeth were clenched and on her forehead was the mark of the High Priestess. It was the Tree Mark.
Arthrea's expression changed from rage to horror so fast it was almost instantaneous. She stumbled backwards as if some invisible blade had pierced her very soul.
The temple trembled. The source of that undeniable, world-shaking presence, revealed itself behind her. It was seven meters tall with emerald-green skin and robes.
The World Tree Mintherenia stood behind Ely. Divine Presence pinned Arthrea to the ground so that she couldn't even move.
"From this moment onward, Elyonari Mintheris is the Last High Priestess of Mintherenia. By the wish of the previous High Priestess, Aria, the Ancient Temple is over. The New Holy Temple of Mintherenia will be created. The Dynasty no longer has authority over this sacred order. It is hers alone."
Arthrea's voice was barely audible over the energy that restrained her.
"Why… why her? Why not let me make another child? Why… why did you choose her?"
Mintherenia's sigh made the temple rattle.
"You are a disappointment. From this moment forward, you are no longer a Verdarite. You will remain a High Elf, nothing more, nothing less. You are no longer a conduit of My will."
At this moment in time, I doubt Ely knew what being a Verdarite means and judging from her expression, she really didn't know what Mintherenia meant here.
The green energy that had restrained her suddenly surged, twisting outward wildly that scorched the temple floor. Her screams carried the weight of her obsession, the remnants of her madness, and the frustration of losing the one thing she had tried to control for years. And then, as quickly as it began, it ended. Her body collapsed and she passed out. She was still a Nexus but her bloodline was erased.
Elyonari didn't move at first. After a while. She wiped the tears off her eyes and turned slowly to face Mintherenia. Her gaze was still full of rage, but now it was tempered with understanding.
"Glory be to the World Tree."
"The power of being the High Priestess is yours to wield. Everything has been restored, thanks to your resolve."
Ely laughed but it wasn't a happy one. She rose to her full height but she didn't move to strike.
"Thank you."
Mintherenia inclined her massive form, acknowledging Ely with a nod.
"You are the Last High Priestess. Aria made a final prayer to bind this decree. From this day forward, you are the keeper of the New Holy Temple. My will flows through you. Protect it, preserve it, and guide it. And also, I will revive your brother and erase your mother's memories starting from your birth to what she's done. I will also erase your knowledge about knowing how you were born. You aren't meant to know that yet."
Ely took a deep, shuddering breath and whispered;
"Thank you… for everything."
Mintherenia simply waved her hand and the remaining Krepsunas all over the Borough vanished instantly as though they had never existed. Meanwhile, Elyonari looked at her mother, lying unconscious. Then, turning to the open temple doors, Elyonari spoke to Mintherenia.
"Bear witness, World Tree. From this moment on, I will begin my first role as the Last High Priestess. I will protect the World Tree. I will… do everything that must be done."
I followed her outside, though I knew it wasn't really me moving. The temple doors hung broken behind her. The green flames were finally dying down into faint embers, but outside was worse. Way worse. The entire capital of Mintheris stretched before her like a graveyard that had forgotten how to end.
Elyonari didn't hesitate.
She stepped forward. She was barefoot now.
"This… is my duty now."
Her hands rose slowly as Nature Energy surged through her. It wasn't gentle this time. It wasn't that serene, calm flow she usually had. The ground beneath her feet cracked slightly and above the sky—no, across the sky—a massive Mystic Circle formed.
It stretched across the heavens like a second sky layered on top of the first. The moment it stabilized, the first soul rose.
Soon enough, millions of them began to appear.
They began to rise from the bodies. The air filled with whispers and cries of voices that overlapped into something almost unbearable to listen to. Ely took it all. Whenever someone does a funeral ritual, they take in the emotions of all souls and gives them leave as they move on to the afterlife.
Her body jerked violently as the first wave hit her, She screamed as her back began to literally crack like glass. Soon, they reached her arms and her entire body but she didn't stop.
"MOVE! GO! DON'T—DON'T STAY HERE!"
More souls surged upward but the strain intensified instantly. Her fingers bent unnaturally as more cracks spread across her palms and shoulders. Blood seeped through the fractures, glowing faintly with Nature Energy as her body tried—and failed—to keep up with the output.
Her back cracked again. Each sound made my stomach twist. Even Veneri didn't move. We just watched because there was nothing else we could do. She was burning herself alive to carry them all.
Her bodyguards were among the fallen.
I saw her eyes flick toward them for just a moment.
Veneri and I witnessed the memories she experienced with them. They were laughing together in the temple. They kept watching over her when she was still small and figuring out how to hold a bow without falling over. They also walked beside her as she hunted animals to increase her archery skills.
Now they were just… gone.
"No… not like this…"
Her energy spiked violently.
The Mystic Circle above gor brighter. It looked like a river of light moving in the sky. The ground trembled under the pressure. The air itself felt like it was tearing apart.
She screamed again. Her entire body was cracking now but she didn't stop.
The survivors gathered at a distance, watching the beautiful sight before them. A single figure was standing in the ruins, holding up the souls of an entire Borough. Her body was breaking apart as she forced them toward eternal peace.
One by one, they knelt to their Last High Priestess.
The night faded slowly as she continued. The flow of souls didn't stop. It kept going. It seemed endless and Ely endured until finally, the last soul rose. A single flicker of light was flying slower than the rest like it didn't want to leave. Ely's hand trembled as she guided it.
"Go. You'll find peace, dear child."
The soul disappeared into the Mystic Circle.
The massive construct above faded slowly, dissolving into particles of emerald light that scattered into the morning sky. The pressure vanished instantly and Ely's body gave out for a moment as she dropped to one knee, gasping for air like she had just surfaced from drowning. Her skin began to heal under the influence of Nature Energy.
The cracks on her back didn't close.
Without a word, she pulled in more Nature Energy and forced it across her back, hiding it beneath a layer of energy. She stood up slowly and looked up.
The sun had risen.
Golden light shone across the ruined Borough, illuminating the destruction, the blood, the survivors still kneeling and the ashes drifting through the air. She stared at it for a long moment.
"This day ushers in a new dawn for our people. But it's not a pleasant one."
The millions of gathered people listened as her voice was amplified by her Nature Energy.
"Everything we knew is gone. The temple, the order, the past, all of it has ended. But we are still here, alive. I am Elyonari Mintheris, The Last High Priestess of the World Tree. And from this moment forward, we will begin our lives once again."