Despite his mental preparation, Azrael's heart still sank like a stone.
He frowned, his expression grave. "Is this related to the recent arrival of the [World-Devouring Disaster] on Earth?"
Sifting through his memories, Azrael could only think of this single explanation. Otherwise, there was no reason for the situation to have deteriorated so suddenly.
In response to his question, the Earth's World Consciousness first shook its head, then nodded. "It was merely the trigger."
"But his actions did tear a hole in the barrier I established."
The pure white figure paused, then raised its featureless head slightly. "Though I doubt he has many tricks left."
Azrael fell silent.
What had transpired in Great Britain was, admittedly, a rare anomaly. It was unfortunate that this particular anomaly had been the one to breach the Earth's World Consciousness's defenses.
He didn't bother asking why the [World-Devouring Disaster] refused to abandon its assault on Earth, even at tremendous cost.
First, sunk costs prevented it from retreating. Second, Earth was clearly more powerful than any world it had previously consumed.
The potential rewards were self-evident.
This centuries-long war was approaching its inevitable conclusion.
If Earth emerged victorious, the universe would gain an incredibly powerful transcendent civilization.
If the [World-Devouring Disaster] won, the universe would be plagued by an incredibly terrifying harbinger of destruction.
After a prolonged silence, Azrael finally spoke again. "Why did you summon me today?"
He doubted the events that had just occurred warranted a personal meeting with the Earth's World Consciousness. After all, Earth's situation had already been dire for quite some time.
As expected, upon hearing his words, the pure white figure released a weary sigh before walking over to him. Its tone grew solemn. "Today, I will help you reach Sovereign-tier."
"?"
Azrael was genuinely startled. He felt he still had considerable distance to cover before reaching Sovereign-tier. Without external interference, it would likely take substantial time before he could achieve that breakthrough.
However, due to his unique nature, there were no barriers for him below Sovereign-tier.
What truly shocked Azrael was that the Earth's World Consciousness possessed such a method of empowerment.
He hesitated momentarily before asking, "Vangeance there be any side effects?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Azrael could have sworn he saw an expression of exasperation cross the featureless face of the pure white figure. "I've taken so much from you already. Have you experienced any side effects?"
Hearing this, Azrael immediately understood what the Earth's World Consciousness was planning. "You acquired some good materials again?"
It was obvious his fellow entity had obtained something valuable from somewhere.
"Good materials?" The pure white figure scratched its cheek, and a small black-and-red fragment materialized in its hand. "You could say that."
Seeing the ominous object, Azrael couldn't help but narrow his eyes. "That thing doesn't look particularly safe."
In response to Azrael's concern, the pure white figure nodded matter-of-factly. "This is a fragment of the [World-Devouring Disaster]."
Though it remained at a disadvantage against Earth's greatest enemy, that didn't mean it lacked any means of retaliation.
This fragment had been seized when the enemy became distracted and descended into Earth's interior. This was precisely why the World Consciousness hadn't appeared during that crisis.
At that moment, the Earth's World Consciousness stared directly at Azrael and whispered, "Want to consume it?"
As it casually weighed the fragments in its hand, Azrael fell silent.
After a moment, he asked, "Why don't you consume it yourself? That should significantly improve your condition, shouldn't it?"
"I cannot." The Earth's World Consciousness shook its head. "If I consume it, there's a small probability it could seize control of a portion of Earth. That's far too dangerous."
Even if the probability was minuscule, it remained a possibility, one they couldn't afford to risk.
Therefore, it would be better to use the fragment to enhance the strength of their kin.
Upon hearing this, Azrael frowned. "If I consume it, won't there be a risk of it controlling me?"
Azrael had no desire to become a puppet of the [World-Devouring Disaster]. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent so long suppressing secret realms on Earth.
Seeing his resistance, the pure white figure explained, "Adele and I will assist you."
"Don't worry. It will be fine."
Unlike the World Consciousness itself, the risk of Azrael losing control after consuming the fragment remained within acceptable parameters.
After all, even if he truly lost control, the World Consciousness possessed the ability to suppress him. It would simply waste years of cultivation.
But in a life-or-death situation, it could only resort to desperate measures.
However, if Azrael refused to consume it, the World Consciousness wouldn't force him.
Hearing this, Azrael sank into contemplation, staring at the fragment pulsing with malevolent life in the Earth's World Consciousness's hand.
He could, of course, choose not to absorb it and slowly climb to Sovereign-tier through his card creation abilities.
But the question was: how long would that take?
One month? Two months? Six months? A year?
Did Earth truly have that much time?
Beyond Earth's current predicament, the Empire of Aetherlight wasn't faring well either.
Aside from Edley in the sky, there was also the malevolent Motian to the south.
Combined with the Earth's World Consciousness's earlier words, it wouldn't be long before the Four Evil Gods returned.
After an extended silence, Azrael said hoarsely, "Let's do it."
Upon hearing this, the Earth's World Consciousness handed him the fragment, then walked over with Adele. "You've absorbed World Consciousness from secret realms before. Just follow the sensation you experienced then."
The fragment of the [World-Devouring Disaster] in Azrael's hand was essentially identical to the remnant World Consciousness from Adele's secret realm, so the absorption method was naturally the same.
He recalled his previous actions and wrapped his mental power around it.
But the next moment, Azrael felt a sharp, piercing pain lance through his skull. Fortunately, the Earth's World Consciousness and Adele reached out to him in time, somewhat alleviating the agony.
Sensing the immense energy contained within the fragment, he couldn't help but wonder internally: 'It's so small, yet it possesses such incredible power?'
Azrael took a deep breath, calming his turbulent emotions, then focused all his attention on absorbing the power from the fragment in his hand.
With the assistance of the Earth's World Consciousness and Adele, Azrael continuously absorbed power from the fragments.
The immense spiritual force, laced with traces of corrupting malice, relentlessly assaulted his mind, causing his face to contort in pain.
"Ugh!"
Azrael even began involuntarily retching while absorbing the power.
If the World Consciousness in Adele's secret realm had been a sumptuous feast, then the fragments of the [World-Devouring Disaster] were an absolutely vile concoction.
It was reminiscent of canned herring mixed with blue cheese, blended into juice and combined with okra and cow brains.
This torment continued for some time. As the power from the [World-Devouring Disaster] fragments gradually diminished, Azrael slowly began to recover.
Finally, after a disembodied voice echoed through Azrael's mind, he successfully broke through to Sovereign-tier.
Pale-faced, Azrael gripped his knees, gasping for breath.
If at all possible, he genuinely never wanted to experience that again.
Fortunately, the rewards were substantial. The power contained within the fragments had successfully propelled him to Sovereign-tier.
After so many years of struggle, he had finally reached the pinnacle of this world.
Unfortunately, even at Sovereign-tier, resolving the troubles posed by the [World-Devouring Disaster] remained somewhat unrealistic.
'Beyond Sovereign-tier?'
It wasn't until he truly broke through that Azrael suddenly realized reaching Sovereign-tier wasn't as simple as merely absorbing World Consciousness.
After all, if that were the case, he, a remnant of World Consciousness, should have broken through directly by now.
Azrael vaguely sensed what achieving this would require, but when he tried to contemplate it further, he found himself utterly clueless.
It was like viewing flowers through fog, the answer remained frustratingly elusive.
Confused, Azrael glanced at the Earth's World Consciousness beside him, wanting to inquire.
Before he could speak, the pure white figure shook its head slightly. "I've been like this since birth, so I wouldn't know even if you asked."
The Earth's World Consciousness couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at Azrael's breakthrough to Sovereign-tier.
While it had possessed considerable confidence in success, failure would have meant years of painstaking effort wasted.
Fortunately, Azrael had ultimately lived up to its expectations.
Azrael experienced momentary disappointment after hearing the Earth's World Consciousness's response, but he quickly accepted reality.
After all, if the World Consciousness had known, Earth wouldn't have been without a Sovereign-tier being for so many years.
Sighing silently, Azrael stared intently at the Earth's World Consciousness and asked, "What do you need me to do?"
He didn't believe he could simply rest after reaching Sovereign-tier. The World Consciousness must have had a purpose in assisting him.
Upon hearing this, the pure white figure flicked its finger, and a beautiful blue planet materialized beneath the three of them.
"Help me eliminate as many Sovereign-tier demons on Earth as possible."
"It will also increase our chances of victory in the final battle."
Azrael was somewhat surprised by this. He hadn't expected such a straightforward request.
Even if the Earth's World Consciousness hadn't mentioned it, he would have done it anyway. After all, they were all in the same precarious situation. The [World-Devouring Disaster] might spare other Sovereign-tier beings, but it certainly wouldn't let him survive.
However, even if he eliminated all the demons on Earth, Azrael doubted it would significantly affect the [World-Devouring Disaster].
Thinking this, he nodded slightly, about to agree.
Just then, the Earth's World Consciousness reached out and stopped him, saying, "Don't be so hasty. If necessary, I'll need you to serve as my grave bearer."
"..."
Azrael stared at the white figure before him, his mouth opening wordlessly.
However, the Earth's World Consciousness didn't want to dwell on the morbid topic, so it simply shook its head. "Don't think about it too much. When the time comes, you'll know what to do."
"Alright, you and Adele can return now."
As the words fell, Azrael found himself back in reality.
He looked down at his palms, muttering subconsciously, "Grave bearer."
No matter how one interpreted it, the title sounded ominous.
He had probably figured out what the Earth's World Consciousness was planning.
After a moment's contemplation, Azrael vanished from the room in a flash.
Elsewhere, Lucian, Tempest, and Attila were handling the daily affairs of the Empire of Aetherlight when they suddenly received notification that Azrael was accessing Sovereign-tier materials.
They were initially startled, then their heads snapped up, staring at each other in disbelief.
A simultaneous thought occurred to them.
"Azrael..."
"Broke through to Sovereign-tier?!"
It was no wonder they reached this conclusion. After all, from their perspective, it was completely pointless for a Master-tier Azrael to access Sovereign-tier materials.
On Earth, bypassing tiers in card creation had never occurred before.
Without time to contemplate further, the three of them vanished from the room, heading directly toward Azrael.
Elsewhere, Azrael surveyed the numerous Sovereign-tier materials before him, unable to suppress a sense of relief.
"Fortunately, I extorted some resources from the Indo-American Federation earlier. Otherwise, the Empire of Aetherlight's materials alone wouldn't have been sufficient to sustain my card creation."
"But speaking of which, why hasn't Louis XXIV's surprise arrived yet?"
Thinking of the [Near-God] currently suppressing the secret realm in Antarctica, Azrael couldn't help but grumble internally.
Honestly, he was curious about the so-called surprise, but France hadn't delivered it yet, so he couldn't proactively inquire.
Furthermore, with the French Emperor currently occupied suppressing the Antarctic secret realm, he suspected the surprise wouldn't arrive anytime soon.
With this thought, Azrael steadied himself and prepared to enter his card creation space.
Just then, three figures materialized before him.
"Azrael, you've reached Sovereign-tier?!"
Azrael hadn't expected his teachers to react so swiftly. He had originally intended to wait until he finished creating his card before revealing the news.
But since they were already here, he decided to address the situation first.
"Teachers, within the next two years, a series of Sovereign-tier secret realms will manifest on Earth. Please prepare contingency plans."
Upon hearing this, Lucian, Tempest, and Attila's initial excitement at Azrael's breakthrough to Sovereign-tier was instantly extinguished.
They stared at the young man before them, stunned, and asked, "Has the situation deteriorated to this extent?"
None of them questioned the reliability of the information source. There was no point.
Wasn't it obvious where Azrael, now a Sovereign-tier Lore Cardian, had obtained his intelligence?
"Probably within the next two years," Azrael said calmly, leaning back in his chair. He regarded the three elders before him with a steady gaze. "What Earth's final outcome will be..."
"We'll discover soon enough."
With these words, the study fell into profound silence.
The intelligence Azrael provided undoubtedly had an enormous impact on Lucian, Tempest, and Attila. After all, just minutes ago, they had believed the Empire of Aetherlight was flourishing.
But catastrophe never allows time for preparation.
All Azrael and the others could do was accept the reality and endeavor to resolve it to the best of their abilities.