Nora's eyes narrowed the instant she stepped deeper into the silver forest.
The wind shifted.
The glowing insects scattered.
And the atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
Sophia immediately sensed it too.
"There's something here."
Nora did not answer immediately.
Her crimson eyes turned distant for a brief moment as another glimpse flashed through her mind.
A shadow.
A claw.
Ashes scattering into the wind.
Then the vision vanished.
Nora calmly raised her hand.
"Guiding Light."
The floating spirit hovering beside her responded instantly. Its golden shell brightened while the crab-like legs beneath its glowing body clicked softly against one another.
Nora pointed ahead.
"Move forward."
Immediately, Guiding Light dashed into the forest.
The silver trees trembled violently.
Something enormous lunged from the darkness.
A monstrous creature covered in black fur leaped toward the spirit with terrifying speed. Its mouth opened wide, revealing rows of jagged crimson teeth while burning essence leaked from its body like smoke.
Sophia instinctively prepared to attack.
But before she could move—
Guiding Light passed by the creature.
Silently.
Effortlessly.
And the moment the glowing spirit crossed the beast's body…
The creature froze.
Then—
Its entire body turned into gray ash.
The ashes scattered into the wind without even leaving a corpse behind.
Sophia stopped moving.
"…What?"
Even Nora herself blinked once.
Though she had created Guiding Light personally, some of its abilities still surprised her.
The spirit constantly secreted a strange invisible aura around itself.
Anything hostile that entered the aura for too long would gradually disintegrate.
Not through fire.
Not through poison.
But through pure essence erosion.
The system whispered softly into Nora's ears.
> "You have received a Spirit."
A translucent notification appeared briefly before vanishing again.
Nora lowered her eyes thoughtfully.
There were two kinds of spirits in existence.
The first were system spirits.
Those granted naturally after achieving certain milestones or ranks.
The second…
Were self-created spirits.
Spirits woven personally through essence manipulation.
Those spirits resembled their creator more deeply and possessed abilities closer to their soul.
That was why Nora's spirits always felt strange.
They were connected directly to her fate essence.
Sophia walked beside her slowly.
"You're becoming more terrifying every day."
Nora smirked faintly.
"I'll pretend that was a compliment."
Then she looked toward Guiding Light.
"Take me to Mother's Citadel."
The glowing spirit clicked its crystalline legs softly before turning toward the northwestern direction.
Then it began moving.
The two girls followed.
The Spiritual Realm stretched endlessly around them.
Gigantic mountains floated in the distance.
Spirit rivers flowed beneath transparent bridges formed from essence.
Creatures roared far away beneath the crimson sky.
Yet Guiding Light continued moving calmly, as if it knew the path perfectly.
Sophia eventually broke the silence.
"Now that you're Monster Class… how many spirits can you summon?"
Nora answered casually.
"Two."
Sophia nearly stumbled.
"ONLY two?!"
Nora nodded.
"Monster Class gives stronger spirits, not necessarily more."
Suddenly—
The system whispered again.
> "Guiding Light has evolved."
Nora stopped walking immediately.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Evolved?"
Guiding Light's body glowed brighter.
Then strange symbols appeared briefly around it before fading.
Nora suddenly realized something.
"…Mother became a Sovereign."
Sophia blinked.
"How do you know?"
Nora pointed toward Guiding Light.
"It gained new mapped territory."
Because Guiding Light was linked directly to Seraphine's Citadel aura, any expansion of the Citadel would automatically update within the spirit itself.
And only one thing could cause such a massive territorial expansion.
Seraphine had ascended.
Sophia smiled excitedly.
"That's huge!"
Nora nodded slowly, though her expression remained thoughtful.
A Sovereign.
That meant her mother had officially entered the ranks of the true rulers of humanity.
The two girls continued traveling through the Spiritual Realm for several hours.
The scenery gradually changed.
The silver forest disappeared behind them.
Now towering walls made from white crystal stretched toward the heavens.
Massive banners carrying Seraphine's crest fluttered in the wind.
A gigantic palace-like Citadel stood proudly in the center of the territory.
Its architecture resembled a mixture of a royal castle and an ancient divine temple.
Glowing waterfalls flowed down the sides of floating towers.
Countless spirit lamps illuminated the pathways.
At the very center stood a colossal statue of Seraphine herself.
One hand carried lightning.
The other carried a crown.
The aura surrounding the Citadel alone was overwhelming.
Sophia looked stunned.
"…Your mother's Citadel is insane."
Nora stared quietly at the palace.
Even she felt slightly surprised.
The expansion was enormous.
The Sovereign breakthrough had strengthened the territory greatly.
As the gates opened, servants and warriors immediately bowed respectfully.
"Lady Nora."
"Welcome back."
Nora nodded calmly while Guiding Light floated beside her proudly.
The interior of the Citadel was even more magnificent.
Golden chandeliers floated beneath high ceilings.
Spirit furnitures crafted from rare essence wood filled the halls.
Training chambers radiated powerful pressure.
Resting halls glowed warmly with calming essence.
Everything looked elegant.
Powerful.
Alive.
Suddenly, a chamber door opened nearby.
A man stepped out calmly.
He looked around thirty years old with short dark hair and simple black armor.
His name was Kai.
The moment he saw Nora, he immediately bowed respectfully.
"Lady Nora."
Nora looked at him calmly.
"Kai."
But Kai's face remained tense.
"Your mother has become a Sovereign."
Nora nodded once.
"I already know."
Kai hesitated briefly before continuing.
"Our power radius expanded greatly after her breakthrough."
Then his expression darkened.
"And it reached the territory of our enemies."
Sophia's smile disappeared instantly.
Nora's eyes narrowed.
Kai continued.
"They are already moving toward our borders."
The atmosphere inside the Citadel became heavy immediately.
Servants stopped moving.
Warriors tightened their grips on their weapons.
But Nora…
Simply walked forward calmly.
A strange coldness entered her eyes.
Then she spoke quietly.
"I am the Heir of Crimson Fate."
Her voice echoed softly through the hall.
"Who dares challenge my mother's Citadel?"
The air trembled slightly.
Nora raised her hand.
"Blind Owl."
Dark essence erupted behind her.
A gigantic black owl materialized silently before shrinking rapidly.
Then it landed on Nora's shoulder like a black statue.
The owl's body suddenly dissolved into shadows.
The shadows wrapped around Nora like living armor.
Black feathers formed across her arms.
Dark wings extended behind her back.
A black crown-like marking appeared around her eyes.
The transformation looked graceful.
Terrifying.
Beautiful.
Unlike ordinary initiates who depended heavily on system weapons, Nora's flaw prevented her from using enchanted weapons gifted by the system.
But her woven spirits were different.
Because they were created from her own essence.
They were extensions of her soul.
Not weapons.
Nora extended her hand again.
"Dancing Spear."
A long black spear materialized before her.
The spear floated weightlessly in the air while crimson symbols rotated around its shaft.
Nora casually sat sideways upon it as though sitting on a flying broom.
Then—
The Dancing Spear shot forward.
Sophia transformed immediately as well.
Her silver hair turned long and brown.
Rock armor formed naturally around her body.
Sharp claws extended from her fingers.
A heavy tail emerged behind her.
Her God Body radiated powerful defensive pressure.
Then Sophia dashed after Nora at incredible speed.
The two girls crossed the territory rapidly.
Soon—
Nora saw light in the distance.
No…
Not light.
Fire.
A gigantic ball of flames shot across the horizon like a falling sun.
At that same moment—
Nora received another short glimpse.
The fire exploding.
Sophia burning alive.
Her rock armor melting.
Nora's eyes widened immediately.
"Sophia!"
Sophia turned.
"What?"
"Summon your Shield Data Type!"
Sophia reacted instantly without questioning.
A massive shield materialized before her.
The next second—
BOOM!!
The gigantic fireball crashed directly onto the shield.
An explosion of flames erupted violently across the battlefield.
The impact blasted Sophia backward several meters.
The ground cracked beneath her feet.
Her rock armor glowed red from the heat.
But…
She survived.
Sophia stood there breathing heavily, gripping the shield tightly while smoke rose around her body.
Nora's crimson eyes narrowed coldly toward the burning distance ahead.
Something powerful had arrived.