Cate understood that even though she had managed to break the illusion, she was still in danger. The being she was facing surely had more potent measures against intruders than a few illusions could provide. What Cate did not know was that not just anyone could break out of an illusion cast by this being. Even gods and devils would be lucky to survive its gaze. The fact that Cate had jumped out of the illusion was shocking even to the being who had cast it.
The being, shrouded in darkness, began to move around. It pulled on the chain with all its power. The chains rattled, and the sound of the creature's struggle filled the hall. Cate was not interested in seeing what this creature would do next. She raised her hand and brought all her will to bear. This was the will of a being who had suffered for thousands of years, enduring untold torment and torture. The hall trembled at this willpower. It seemed as though everything would collapse in the next moment.
"The sun brings life, but all is death. Only death brings salvation to the world. Sun fire cleanses the world and renews life through death. The truths of the world remain unchanged as the sun and moon chase each other through an endless cycle that encompasses creation. By the blood of the Old ones and the will of my ancestors, I summon Sun Fire to come forth and work through my will."
Cate chanted as she channeled her magic through her body in a specific circuit. Her eyes glowed with a brilliance that soon morphed into flames that entirely replaced her eyes. "Wahahahahaha," the creature covered in darkness cried out with all its might when it saw what Cate was doing. The creature could feel the power that was being invoked, and even though it was eternal, it still understood that it would suffer from this spell, especially since over ninety-eight percent of its power was sealed.
The only thing it could do was create the illusions that trapped a person in a world filled with all their desires fulfilled. This power was terrible enough that ever since this being gained consciousness in this place, no one who had ventured into this pyramid had lived to escape the illusion. Cate was the first, and the creature now suddenly found itself with no other way to deal with the unruly mortal before it.
"Boooom," a wave of power went through the world. Cate pointed at the being of darkness, and Sun Fire came out of space and filled the hall with all its power, focused on the being. Sun Fire was one of the Seven Source Flames. It was said that these flames were so powerful that even gods had to be careful when dealing with them. Since Cate sought to bring an end to the gods, she had, of course, taken to searching for spells that could allow her to channel the Source Flames. After decades of searching, she had gotten her hands on the Sun Fire Spell that allowed a person to channel Sun Fire.
Still, this fire was not enough for her to get her revenge against the gods. They were simply far too powerful to be dealt with so easily. It was not that the Sun Fire was weak by any measure, and Cate had proved this to herself on the many occasions she used it before she launched her failed attack on Ares, the god of war. In that battle, she had been soundly defeated and barely escaped with her life. That was the greatest defeat of her life, and soon after that, she was beheaded by a so-called hero.
Sun Fire filled the hall and burned the darkness while trying to penetrate it to reach the being beneath all of it. The being cried out with what could only be great pain. With this pain, the being lost its grip on the other people in the hall, allowing Mary, Jordan, Albrecht, and the Mage Born to escape from the illusion. Cate continued releasing all her power without any hesitation. The Sun Flames that were coming out of her hands and the space around the being were so hot that the golden hall began melting.
"Leave the hall," she cried out. Mary and the others did not hesitate to flee from this place. It was because they could see that their presence was hindering Cate from releasing even more of the Sun Fire. As she ran out of the hall, Jordan looked back at Cate with her eyes wide open. "Is she actually my bastard sister?" Jordan thought. The power that Cate was releasing was far too great to be from just any magician. This was the kind of power that turned normal people into legends. With this kind of power, Cate was sure to become someone truly influential in the world of the supernatural.
The moment the others left the hall, Cate released all her power. "Waaaaaaahaaa," she cried out at the top of her voice, and the entire pyramid shook with her power. As she released more Sun Fire, she felt as though her magic had greatly increased ever since she used the Original Sin spell. Usually, she would have already reached her limit within the first minute of using such a powerful spell, but it was now already three minutes since she began manifesting Sun Fire, and still, she did not feel any kind of limit to her power. Her magic was seemingly endless, and the more she used it, the deeper her well of magic grew.
This feeling was very intoxicating. It was as though she had the power to burn down the world and bring about a new world order. The yellow flames rampaged, and the being of darkness cried out. Soon, all the darkness that had previously surrounded it was burned away, and what was left was the creature's true form. It was a pair of eyes. Each eye was larger than ten human heads put together. These eyes were clearly not from a human. The moment Cate looked into their golden enclosure, she felt as though she was being pulled into the cycle of life and death. She looked away and pushed her magic even further. Even though she was intrigued by the power within these eyes, she wanted her life more than the power these eyes could offer.