[Long Recap: The Goddess Descends]
Three days of silence.
Three days since the world itself tore apart.
The memory of that night still burned behind Hayate's eyelids. The sky cracking open, divine lances falling like rain, the earth screaming under celestial fire. Every second of it was carved into his soul — not as trauma, but as truth.
He remembered the sound of her voice — the Goddess — echoing through the storm.
"You defy divinity, mortal. You forget your place."
And his reply, defiant, furious, and utterly human.
"Then come down and make me kneel."
It was the first time in history a mortal stood face-to-face with a deity and struck blood from her body.
Her blood — molten gold — still stained his memory.
He had felt his body breaking apart.
Every bone screaming.
The system blaring impossible warnings.
[Warning: Power Surge Beyond System Parameters.]
[Core Overload – 97%]…
[Containment Failed.]
And then — silence.
The world vanished in light. He remembered collapsing, his sword dissolving into sparks, his name echoing into nothing.
Then came the mark — the Revenant Monarch's Seal, searing through space and time like a forgotten god awakening from death.
The Goddess's face had twisted in disbelief.
"No… that mark was erased ages ago!"
But it wasn't erased. It had been sleeping inside him all along.
And when it awakened, everything changed.
The Revenant Monarch — a being older than gods, whose rebellion shattered the heavens once before — had chosen Hayate as his vessel.
And through him, the world had witnessed defiance incarnate.
That night, both mortal and divine power vanished into a single explosion of black and gold light.
The Goddess disappeared. Hayate disappeared.
And the system could only whisper:
[User Status: Unknown.]
[Location Data – Lost.]
[Reconnecting… failed.]
[Present: Unknown Realm]
Cold.
The first thing he felt was the biting cold of the void.
Hayate opened his eyes slowly. There was no ground beneath him — only stars. Infinite constellations swirled around him like a living galaxy, pulsing softly to the rhythm of his heartbeat.
"Where… am I?"
His voice echoed endlessly, swallowed by space. The air shimmered, and before him, a familiar figure appeared — faint, luminous, and breathtaking.
Lyra.
Her eyes glowed like pale moons, her expression soft yet sorrowful. "Welcome, Hayate," she whispered. "You've crossed the threshold."
Hayate blinked, his body weightless. "Lyra… what happened to the Goddess? Where is this?"
"This," she said, raising her hand as galaxies swirled around them, "is the space between realms. A place no god or mortal was meant to stand. You shouldn't even exist here."
He looked around — at the endless horizon of stars, at the strange monuments floating in the distance, each glowing faintly like ancient tombstones.
"Then why am I here?"
"Because," Lyra said quietly, "you touched divinity — and survived."
[System Log: Initiating Recovery Protocol]
Core Synchronization in Progress…
Revenant Monarch Resonance: 13% → 18% → 27%.
User Condition: Stable.
Hayate's body flickered with streams of crimson and gold light. His torn armor reformed, runes engraving across his chest like veins of light.
He groaned. "Still feels like hell."
Lyra smiled faintly. "You've always been stubborn."
"Guess that's what keeps me alive."
But her expression darkened. "You don't understand what you've done. The moment you wounded the Goddess, you didn't just defy a deity. You broke the Balance."
Hayate frowned. "Balance?"
"There are rules," she said softly. "Even gods follow them. The divine cannot destroy the mortal realm directly, and mortals cannot harm divinity. You… shattered that law. Now the higher realms will respond."
He clenched his fists. "Let them. I'm done playing by their rules."
[Scene: The Void Gate – Revenant Monarch's Throne]
The stars shifted.
A sound echoed — a heartbeat so vast it made the galaxies tremble.
The constellations bent inward, forming a colossal pathway of golden stone that appeared beneath his feet. Far away, at the end of the cosmic corridor, stood a massive gate — black as shadow, inscribed with flames that pulsed like living hearts.
Hayate felt his blood react immediately.
"That symbol…" He stared. "It's the same mark that appeared during the fight."
Lyra's gaze followed his. "That is the Throne of the Revenant Monarch. Your true inheritance."
"My inheritance?" His tone turned wary. "You mean his power?"
"No," she whispered. "His will."
He stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the glowing bridge, the stars dimmed. Whispers filled the air — echoes of forgotten souls, chanting something ancient and heavy.
"Revenant…"
"The Monarch returns…"
"He who defied the gods shall rise again…"
Each step brought a rush of memories that weren't his. Images flashed before his eyes — burning skies, legions of fallen angels, a man cloaked in darkness wielding a sword that split dimensions.
The Revenant Monarch — once mortal, once human — who dared to challenge the divine order and nearly won.
Hayate fell to one knee as pain lanced through his skull.
Memories poured in — blood, betrayal, eternity.
He saw the Monarch's face, the same crimson eyes, the same stubborn fire.
"My successor… don't kneel."
The voice echoed inside his head, vast and commanding. "Rise."
[System Update: Monarch Resonance – 51% Synced]
Hayate gasped as power flooded through him. The air burned around his body; the void itself rippled.
His cracked sword appeared once again — only now reforged. Sleek, black, with golden veins running through it, humming like a living creature.
Lyra's eyes widened. "That blade… it's the Revenant Sword. The weapon that once cut through heaven's throne!"
Hayate ran his hand along the blade. "Then it's mine now."
But before he could move further, the gate began to glow.
The enormous doors creaked open, revealing a blinding core of light.
And inside… sat a throne made of shadows and flame.
Atop it, a silhouette rested — massive, regal, cloaked in black. His eyes opened slowly, like suns awakening after eons of sleep.
"So," the figure said, voice deep and ancient, "my successor has arrived."
Hayate froze. "You're—"
"The Revenant Monarch. The one whose power you now carry."
[Dialogue: Monarch vs Successor]
Hayate stepped closer, the galaxy swirling behind him. "Why me? There were millions before me — stronger, smarter, purer—"
"Because," the Monarch interrupted, his voice cutting like thunder, "you refused to kneel. You broke the chain even gods feared to touch."
The Monarch rose from the throne, each step shaking the void. He looked at Hayate not as an equal — but as a reflection.
"I was betrayed by heaven. Killed by those who claimed to be righteous. Yet even as I fell, I swore my legacy would find one who shared my rage."
He raised his hand, and a crimson sigil burned on Hayate's chest.
[System Log: Monarch's Covenant Activated.]
New Title: "Heir of the Revenant."
Skill Granted: "Celestial Severance – Level 1."
Hayate gasped as knowledge and energy flooded his mind.
"What is this…?"
"The beginning," the Monarch said. "You will rebuild what I could not. But beware—every god in existence will now hunt you. Even the ones who once stood by me."
He turned, his cloak dissolving into light. "Remember this: Power means nothing without resolve. The heavens fall only to those who dare to burn."
Then, as the Monarch's form faded, the throne behind him dissolved into black fire and merged into Hayate's body.
[System Update: Core Synchronization – 100% Complete.]
User Transformation: Revenant Monarch Successor – Achieved.
Physical and Spiritual Attributes Enhanced.
Access to Sub-Realm 'Throne Between Worlds' Granted.
Hayate stood alone in the vast, empty realm. His new blade shimmered in his hand, pulsing to the rhythm of his heart.
He looked up — and through the endless void, saw faint cracks forming in the sky again.
Lyra appeared beside him, her form more stable now, glowing brighter.
"They're coming," she whispered. "The gods felt your awakening."
He nodded, smirking despite the dread crawling down his spine.
"Good. Let them."
[Final Scene: The Rift Opens]
A massive tear split across the stars.
Voices echoed from beyond — divine, furious, countless.
"THE HERALD OF THE FALLEN RETURNS."
"SEAL THE THRONE."
"ERASE HIS EXISTENCE!"
Hayate raised his blade toward the rift.
His aura flared — black flame merging with golden light.
"Then it's time," he said softly. "To start the second rebellion."
He stepped forward—and vanished into the storm of gods.
[End of Chapter 43 – Revenant Monarch's Throne]
[Quest Updated: Reclaim the Mortal Realm – Phase I Initiated.]
[Objective: Return through the Rift and Confront the First Deity Hunter.]