No one knew exactly what transpired on that day. They only knew that as the holy hymns resonated across Antut's sky and earth, the tyrant's Golden Ark plummeted from the heavens.
A Tier 3 Void Wanderer had been defeated just like that.
The final chapter of the tyrant's legend was written.
"What happened?"
The Void Wanderers and Transcenders watching from the shadows were paralyzed with shock. They were stunned by the unexpected turn of the war and shaken by a power within Antut that defied their understanding.
"This is..."
Among them, those who understood the fundamental nature of power recognized the force.
"Subjective power?"
Only those who grasped the essence of this strength knew its true potential. When the conviction and willpower of millions converged, nothing was impossible.
Rewriting reality.
Manifesting every possibility.
This was the true terror of Subjective Power.
Of course, the most critical factor remained Stella. She possessed a nature that mirrored the very essence of Subjective Power; she was a walking miracle, even as a mere Tier 2.
But backed by the gathered strength of millions, even a Tier 3 could not nudge Antut an inch.
In the wake of this event, the remaining Tier 3 elites became vigilant to the point of paranoia. Seeing a powerful contemporary fall so inexplicably was genuinely terrifying.
Fortunately, Antut showed no ambition for conquest or dominion. Had it been otherwise, the Tier 3 rulers of the surrounding empires would have been forced to unite for a desperate, final stand.
Among the many wary gazes, one was particularly unique.
Filthy.
Evil.
A pair of crimson eyes, swirling with the darkest emotions and impulses of the world, burned with extreme greed and longing.
Yet, they were also filled with dread and fear.
This entity yearned to defile all that was beautiful and sacred, to shatter everything good, and to cast hope into the infinite abyss to reap even greater power.
The moment ultimate beauty and ultimate holiness plummeted into the depths of depravity, they would surely yield the purest essence of filth and evil. This was the reason the darkness craved Antut's fall.
However, because of Antut's absolute sanctity, the entity felt a searing pain, like a soul-burning fire, merely by looking at it. A rat in the sewer dares not bathe in the sunlight.
It could only wait in the shadows for the right moment to strike.
"There will be an opportunity..."
A bone-chilling whisper drifted from the foul, wicked darkness.
...
CRASH—
The rushing torrent slammed against the rocks, sending a fine spray of white foam into the air. The steep drop churned the water into a deafening roar. Two silhouettes swept downstream, hurtling past Mei.
Night fell.
Twigs crackled in the fire, their sharp pops punctuating the stillness as yellow light pushed back the surrounding darkness, radiating a comforting warmth.
Warmth.
That was the first sensation Mira felt as she drifted back to consciousness. As her mind cleared, a sudden bolt of alarm shot through her, and her eyes flew open.
Her gaze landed first on Gana, who was already awake and warming himself by the fire, then on a figure dressed like a traveler. Seeing Mira awake, the young man named Gana tossed her a waterskin.
"You're awake. We're incredibly lucky; we didn't die at the hands of those fanatics. We drifted downstream and were pulled out of the river by this traveler."
Mira swept her long, damp black hair over her shoulder and tied it back. Her striking face turned toward Mei, and she forced out a few stiff words.
"Thank you."
It was clear she wasn't accustomed to expressing gratitude.
Mei waved it off.
"It was just a simple gesture."
Mira reached into her pouch and pulled out a bag of gold coins, handing it to Mei. Though she maintained the haughty air of a high-born lady, she understood the importance of repaying a debt.
"Consider this a token of my gratitude for saving us. It's the least I can do."
"Alright."
Mei had no use for the coins, but she accepted them nonetheless. It signaled that the debt was settled, which made Mira visibly relax; she hated being beholden to anyone.
Being a woman of few words, Mira lapsed into silence after her brief exchange. Gana, however, was naturally gregarious and struck up a conversation with Mei with ease.
"You look like a traveler."
Mei nodded.
"I just arrived in this area."
"We're in the same boat, though we were a bit less fortunate. We ran into a bunch of fanatics worshipping some obscure god. They nearly slaughtered us."
There were so many gods fighting for followers that it was impossible to keep track of them all, unless they were particularly famous. Gana, for one, didn't recognize which deity those fanatics worshipped.
It wasn't Alaya.
And it wasn't the Mother God.
This area was a good distance from both the Kingdom of Graham and Antut, and it wasn't part of any established realm. For Mira and Gana to venture into such a lawless region required more than just courage; it required strength.
At the very least, they had managed to claw their way back from death's doorstep this time.
Speaking of fanatics, Gana glanced at Mei's attire and asked curiously, "Are you a believer of the Mother God? If I'm not mistaken, you must have come from Antut, right?"
"No."
Mei clarified, "I just spent some time traveling through Antut. I have two friends I know there. You haven't been to Antut yet, have you?"
Gana, wondering how Mei could tell they had never visited, nodded. "If the journey goes smoothly, Antut is a mandatory stop for us. I've heard it's hailed as the Land of Miracles..."
In his voice, Gana clearly romanticized Antut. In an era plagued by war, famine, and disease, Antut was the utopia of every commoner's dreams.
Mira chimed in, "I've heard there is no hunger there, no sickness, and no oppression or exploitation. Is it truly a kingdom as beautiful as a fairy tale?"
Though somewhat exaggerated, it was essentially the truth.
"More or less."
"That's simply incredible..."
Time slipped away amidst their idle chatter.
Late at night.
The fire died down.
Mira and Gana, who should have been asleep, were whispering in low tones. Mira had Gana pull an exquisite jewelry box from his cloak. "Open it and see if the item is still there," she said guardedly.
"No problems here. No signs it's been tampered with."
As he spoke,
Gana opened the box, revealing a deep azure gemstone inside. Just as the two of them breathed a collective sigh of relief, they failed to notice a stray beam of moonlight striking the gem.
In an instant,
The gemstone emitted a brilliant radiance. Their eyes grew vacant and glazed over, and strange smiles spread across their faces, as if they had fallen into some sort of trance.
Behind them,
Mei watched silently. As the power radiating from the sapphire spread, a seductive, heart-stirring whisper began to echo in her ears.
"Do you crave beauty?"
"Do you lust for gold?"
"Do you hunger for power?"
"Simply whisper your wish to me, and I can satisfy your every desire, fulfilling your every fantasy..."
Mei only felt bored.
And slightly annoyed.
SNAP!
The light returned to Mira and Gana's eyes. As they snapped back to consciousness, they heard a sharp, brittle sound: Mei had effortlessly crushed the azure gemstone into dust.
Silence.
The hallucinations vanished.
The two were left trembling. If Mei hadn't destroyed the gem, they might have lost themselves in those visions forever, perhaps until death took them.
Mira expressed her heartfelt gratitude once more. This time, there was a different light in her eyes as she looked at Mei. Gana, as easygoing as ever, was even more effusive.
"You've saved us yet again!"
Mei spoke bluntly.
"I just found it annoying."
"Well, even so, you still saved us!"
After two life-saving encounters, Gana had fully cast aside any lingering suspicion of Mei. All barriers between them seemed to have dissolved. Amidst his profuse thanks, Gana caught Mira's expression.
He glanced at her, and she quickly averted her gaze as she was still stealing looks at Mei.
At the same moment,
Far away, amidst the churning filth, ugliness, and profound evil of the deep shadows, two crimson eyes suddenly flared with an intense, ecstatic hunger.
"So noble!"
"So pure!"
"An unparalleled character and soul!"
It was as if a priceless, shimmering piece of gold had been plucked from a vast desert of yellow sand. The soul that viewed wealth as refuse, power as fleeting mist, and beauty as nothingness—that noble, pure soul—left the entity salivating with desire.
The Filthy Darkness found no pleasure in causing commoners to fall. Mortals were already prone to losing themselves in their own unchecked, base desires. There was no thrill in it.
Only the few truly noble individuals were worthy of the Filthy Darkness's seductions. It lived to tempt them toward depravity, to lead them astray, and to defile their high ideals and virtues.
The Filthy Darkness still dared not touch Antut; the absolute sanctity of their conviction and willpower was so blinding it couldn't even look upon the place. But beyond Antut, it knew no restraint.
A twisted, hideous grin flickered within the darkness as the entity's greed reached its zenith. It was already shaking with uncontrollable anticipation, unable to wait a moment longer to track down that noble soul.
In the pitch-black night,
The foul, wicked darkness flowed silently toward its goal.
...
On the road.
Gana and Mei discussed the source of the sapphire. The journey was long and travel was expensive, so they often took on commissions to earn some extra coin. Transporting that azure gem had been their latest job.
"A shame about the luck, though. Looks like we won't be getting our collateral back on this one."
Gana sighed.
He asked Mei, "Are you a God-Blessed?"
Mei replied simply.
"No."
"A believer of some deity, then?"
"No."
Gana had a sudden revelation, reaching what he believed was the correct answer. "I see. Then you're like us: you must have stumbled upon the lingering power of some ancient god or warrior."
"Lingering" was a loose term. In truth, most such powers were seeds deliberately sown by Grand Travelers. Otherwise, such "chance encounters" and remnants of supernatural power would be far rarer.
Those who claimed these seeds naturally became conduits for the Grand Travelers' causality and power: pawns in their grand designs.
Mira and Gana were clearly oblivious to this. But even if they had known, they likely would have embraced it. Countless people yearned for such a chance to transcend their mundane lives and never received the opportunity.
All in all,
They were both Tier 1.
Given her performance that night, Mira and Gana were well aware that Mei's strength far exceeded theirs. If she truly had any designs on them, there would have been no need for a facade.
Gana privately speculated that Mei was likely at the peak of Tier 1. As for Tier 2... that seemed improbable. Tier 2 individuals were usually major figures.
Like the King of Graham, the Pope of the Alaya Church, or Saintess Stella of Antut. It was highly unlikely a Tier 2 would be just an ordinary, nondescript traveler.
It was a logical conclusion.
After a moment's hesitation,
The usually reticent Mira spoke up, asking Mei, "If it's possible, would you tell me about your experiences in the Kingdom of Graham and Antut?"
She followed up by pulling out a worn parchment scroll and a quill, offering a reason. "I enjoy recording the rumors and stories of different places."
Mei nodded.
"I can do that."
Over the following days, Mira was thoroughly captivated by Mei's vast wealth of knowledge. From the rise of the Kingdom of Graham and the birth of the Alaya Church, to the emergence of the Graham resistance and the founding of Antut.
She spoke of the grand movements of kingdoms and churches, and the smaller, personal stories of individuals: Gilbert's tragic life, the legend of the Holy Son of Alaya, and the compassion of Saintess Stella.
Every story she told, every character she described, was vivid and lifelike, as if she had personally lived through those events and witnessed those people's growth with her own eyes.
The more Mira listened, the brighter her eyes grew. She wasn't lying; she genuinely enjoyed recording the lore and myths of different lands. Almost unconsciously, she became immersed in this shared joy, and the remaining traces of awkwardness between her and Mei gradually dissolved.
Beside them,
Gana, watching Mira's unusually bright and proactive expression, wore a knowing, playful smirk. When Mei stepped out, he teased Mira with a grin.
"Looks like your heart's skipping a beat for someone."
Hearing this,
Mira's faint smile instantly vanished, replaced by her cold, aloof mask. Her quill paused for a second. "I'm only interested in her vast knowledge," she said flatly.
Such stubbornness.
Gana shook his head.
"It's perfectly normal to be attracted to powerful people, especially someone so incredibly well-informed and scholarly. That's exactly your type, isn't it?"
Mira remained impassive.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Sigh."
Gana exhaled deeply. "What I mean is, you should seize the opportunity. I know your personality all too well. I can't help you with this, but even if it's just a fleeting attraction and hasn't reached the point of love yet, you should still find a way to keep her around for a bit longer. From what I can tell, she has no intention of traveling with us much further."
Mira's personality was high-born at best, and arrogant at worst. That level of proactive behavior earlier was likely the absolute limit for her under normal circumstances.
Gana had rarely seen Mira so forward in all the time he'd known her, which was why he was trying to offer some friendly advice. He didn't want her to look back later and regret it, but the woman was incredibly stubborn.
She refused to admit a thing.
"I don't understand a word you're saying."
Mira lowered her head and resumed her writing.
Unsurprisingly, Mei took her leave that very day, choosing a different path. While passing through a small town, she stayed the night at an inn.
When she woke the next morning...
"What a... what a coincidence!"
Standing outside the inn, a tired-looking Mira with dark circles under her eyes greeted Mei stiffly. Her expression was a bit strained as she said, "We just happened to have some business here, and we didn't expect to run into you again."
"..."
Mei remained silent.
Beside them, Gana rolled his eyes.
They had ridden through the night to catch up, scouring nearly every corner of the town just to find where Mei was staying. As always, Mira was far from honest with herself.
They could have just followed her yesterday, but no: she insisted on riding ahead for a distance before circling back.
"Sigh."
Thinking about it, Gana let out another long, weary sigh.
"..."
Claiming "coincidence" each time, the two clumsily and stubbornly tagged along with Mei. Whenever Mei announced her next destination, Mira would offer some forced, unconvincing acting.
"What a coincidence! That's exactly where we're headed next..."
But she always looked away guiltily as she spoke, terrified Mei would see through her excuse. Watching her, Gana could only bury his face in his hand.
Fortunately, Mei never pushed back too hard. She remained her usual calm, unruffled self, letting Mira come up with whatever excuses she wanted to keep traveling with them.
Gradually, they genuinely became a trio. When problems arose on the road, they worked together seamlessly, their coordination improving with every challenge.
And so it went.
A vài months later, as they neared Antut, Mira and Gana learned that the most powerful empire in the region had mobilized its forces to conquer the Land of Miracles.
Antut was about to become a war zone.
"Continuing toward Antut probably isn't the smartest move right now. Getting caught in a war of that scale is far too dangerous."
Gana's advice was perfectly reasonable. Though she felt a twinge of regret, Mira agreed. She didn't say a word, her gaze fixed on Mei in the distance.
On the windswept mountain peak,
Mei watched the fierce cavalry sweeping across the boundless desert, and the Golden Ark: faintly visible on the horizon, radiating the tyrant's immense power. After observing for a moment, she turned to leave.
"Let's go."
Gana let out a massive sigh of relief.
He had been terrified Mei would be headstrong and insist on returning to Antut, in which case Mira would almost certainly have followed her to the death, and he would have had no choice but to tag along.
To steer clear of the war between the Empire and Antut, the trio put as much distance as possible between themselves and the region, eventually crossing into a kingdom bordering the Empire.
After several detours, they finally entered Imperial territory.
It wasn't until over a month later that they accidentally learned the war's outcome from a client: the Empire had been defeated. Hundreds of thousands of its troops were gone.
The Golden Ark had crashed.
The tyrant's whereabouts were unknown.
"Are you serious?!"
Gana was stunned by the news. An army of hundreds of thousands, personally led by the tyrant, and they had suffered such a humiliating defeat?
And their opponent was just a minor border nation with a population of barely ten million.
Mira was equally shocked.
"I doubt anyone will ever dare to underestimate Antut again."
The Land of Miracles was now more than just a name.
She couldn't begin to fathom how Antut had achieved such an impossible feat. Legends said the tyrant had once used the Golden Ark to crush an army of over a million men; his power was described as nothing less than god-like.
He was even said to have defeated actual gods. And yet, Antut had triumphed against such a force.
It was simply unbelievable.
As for the battle itself, no one could recount the details.
The only word that had leaked out was that a solemn, majestic hymn had filled the air, resonating across the heavens and the earth, said to be the voice of Saintess Stella herself.
"A hymn?"
Mira was confused.
In an age where gods reigned on high and kings swept across the land, much of what occurred was beyond mortal comprehension: legends and myths were being forged in real-time.
Mira was consistently filled with awe and dread; mortals like her were relegated to being silent witnesses, looking up at the era of gods and kings.
Whether they believed in the gods or not, commoners like Mira and Gana prayed every day that the wars between gods and kings would never touch their lives.
Otherwise, death was almost a certainty.
The sheer, terrifying power that could shatter mountains and split the earth, you only truly grasped its scale and the despair it brought when you were caught in its wake.
The latest commission was straightforward.
The client stated, "Just bring one person back safely for me."
Gana asked, "Who?"
"A noble soul who follows the God of Compassion."
...
When the trio arrived at the small town specified in the commission, the scene that met their eyes was one of pure horror. Mira felt a chill down her spine.
Fires of evil raged, consuming homes until nothing was left. The dancing flames were as crimson as blood, taking on the shapes of twisted, hideous faces.
"Help me!"
"HAHAHA, burn him to death!"
"Please, spare me..."
Cruel laughter mingled with agonized screams, and blood stained the streets. Bodies, mutilated beyond recognition by unimaginable torture, were strung up in the trees.
The entire town had become a living hell of slaughter and unchecked desire.
Mira and Gana turned pale.
The person they were sent to find had been cornered by a mob of crazed townspeople and pinned to a wall with pitchforks. That once noble and compassionate man was now bleeding from his eyes, nose, and mouth, screaming a final, venomous curse.
"You ignorant fools! A few whispers and you turn into monsters, unleashing all the evil and filth from the depths of your hearts. You're idiots! Your sins are unforgivable!"
"You'll never find peace! You're poor in this life, and you'll never know wealth in the next. If I have another life, I'll skin you alive, eat your flesh, and drink your blood!"
Before Mira and the others could reach him, the man was gored to death by the frenzied mob. He died a gruesome death, his eyes wide and staring.
Mira was furious.
"You animals!"
She turned.
The townspeople's eyes, wild like beasts, fixed on Mei's trio. They lunged toward them in a frenzied mob, their faces twisted as they shrieked, "Outsiders! Burn them! Sacrifice them to the gods!"
Gana slowed his pace, his expression cold as he drew the daggers from his belt. Mira was the fastest, her hands sweeping out in a burst of rage as chains entwined with thorns whipped through the air.
A blur of movement.
Then a spray of crimson.
The crazed townspeople were cut down in swathes. It was only after they collapsed to the ground that they began to howl in agony. Their screams did nothing to move Mira to pity.
They only fueled her fury.
SWISH!
Mira swung her thorny chains again, the chains dancing with the agility of a serpent as they lopped off limbs and tore through flesh.
Gana joined the fray without hesitation, his figure moving like a phantom through the crowd. Each flick of his daggers claimed another throat.
Before long, the streets were slick with blood.
Mira's chains were drenched. Not a single townsperson was left alive. Mei walked toward the man who had been pinned to the wall with pitchforks.
She reached out and pulled back his torn clothing.
On his chest, someone had carved a bloody message with a knife: "An offering to the Great God of Infinite Salvation—Filthy Darkness."
The moment she finished reading, a pitch-black darkness erupted from the dead man's body. In that gloom, a whirlwind of chaos, madness, and foul, wicked emotions hammered against their senses.