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Nora couldn't breathe.
From where she stood in the spiritual realm—half-present, half-hidden between layers of existence—she watched the battlefield below unravel like the end of the world.
The sky was broken.
Clouds churned violently overhead, split by streaks of white lightning and rivers of fire. The earth beneath the Seraphine Citadel had cracked open into glowing trenches, lava bleeding between shattered stone while smoke rose like black pillars toward heaven.
And in the middle of it all…
Death Dealer walked forward.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Like destruction itself had taken human form.
His dark robes fluttered in the burning wind. Crimson flames curled around his feet with every step, leaving the ground molten behind him. His eyes glowed like dying suns.
He didn't look human.
He looked like judgment.
Nora's fingers trembled.
Below, Seraphine and Rylan fought with everything they had.
Rylan roared first.
His silver armor flashed as he lifted both hands toward the heavens. Lightning gathered around his palms like furious serpents, but unlike Seraphine's pure storm element, Rylan's power carried something heavier—
Earth.
Weight.
Pressure.
His bond with Seraphine made their powers intertwine as one.
Earthweather Bond.
Lightning descended from the heavens.
Rylan caught it.
Compressed it.
Wrapped it in layers of earth essence until the lightning became sharp—solid—like glowing arrows forged by the storm itself.
Then he thrust both hands forward.
A thousand lightning arrows screamed across the battlefield.
They struck Death Dealer all at once.
The explosion shattered stone and lit the world white.
For a moment…
Nora thought it worked.
Then the flames cleared.
Death Dealer stood untouched.
His expression didn't change.
He raised one hand.
And Rylan's lightning turned red.
Death Dealer had converted the attack into fire.
Then sent it back.
"Rylan!" Nora cried.
Seraphine moved instantly.
She raised both arms to the sky.
Mist spread through the heavens.
Silver storm clouds formed instantly.
Rain poured down—not ordinary rain, but divine stormwater carrying Seraphine's essence.
It struck the fire and extinguished it in violent steam before it could consume Rylan.
Rylan landed hard, breathing heavily.
But Death Dealer only smiled.
Then heat exploded from his body.
Not flames—
Heat itself.
The battlefield warped.
Stone melted.
Steel softened.
Rain evaporated before touching the ground.
Even from the spiritual realm Nora felt her skin burn.
Rylan clenched his jaw.
Then controlled the molecules of air around them, drawing cold currents downward and forcing the battlefield temperature lower.
Frost formed over shattered rock.
Cold and heat collided violently.
But Death Dealer had already moved.
He raised a finger.
Behind him—
two monstrous beings rose from the inferno.
Towering creatures made entirely of living flame.
Their hollow eyes burned like suns.
Death Dealer pointed toward Seraphine and Rylan.
"Kill them."
The creatures charged.
Seraphine and Rylan were immediately drawn into battle.
And neither of them noticed—
Death Dealer walking past them.
Toward the Citadel.
Toward Seraphine's gate.
Toward ownership.
Nora's heart nearly stopped.
"No…"
If he entered—
everything would end.
Her shaking hands summoned her profile.
Golden words appeared before her:
Spirit: 1 / 64,000
Memory: 1 / 2,000
Memory…
A life.
A trial.
A soul transformed into power.
The only memory Nora possessed—
was her own.
If she used it, she could force Death Dealer to relive a life.
But that required enough will to trap a Sovereign.
And Nora did not possess that strength.
Not yet.
Her gaze hardened.
Then she chose.
Awaken.
Even if it killed her.
Her consciousness descended into her Soul Sea.
There—
she saw her soul core.
Bright.
Rotating.
Alive.
And without hesitation—
she shattered it.
CRACK.
Pain consumed her instantly.
Her soul core split apart.
Essence burst through her body like a flood breaking free.
Her veins burned.
Her bones screamed.
Her vision darkened.
But Nora endured.
She forced every fragment under control.
Wrapped the leaking essence around her will.
Above—
Death Dealer had already reached the gates of Seraphine's Citadel.
Then—
someone stood before him.
A man in silver armor.
Horns curved from his head.
His lower body dissolved into currents of sky.
Wind circled him like blades.
Kai.
Death Dealer stopped.
"Kai…"
Kai raised a bow made entirely of compressed wind.
An arrow formed from screaming air itself.
He released.
The wind-arrow tore through space.
Death Dealer caught it effortlessly.
It burst apart in his palm.
Death Dealer looked at him.
"Brother…"
"Don't make me kill you."
Kai's eyes burned with fury.
"Will you destroy everything for power?"
Silence.
Kai stepped forward.
"Will you betray the world… for your ambition?"
Still silence.
Then Kai roared—
"Go to hell!"
Death Dealer sighed.
Then released his will.
BOOM.
Kai froze instantly.
His body locked in place.
Unable to move.
Unable to breathe.
His knees buckled beneath overwhelming pressure.
Kai was Ascendant.
But Death Dealer was far beyond that.
Then—
Nora screamed.
Power erupted around her.
Her awakening had begun.
Essence exploded through her like a storm.
Her shattered soul reformed stronger than before.
Light wrapped around her body.
Pain consumed every part of her—
but she endured it.
Then the whisper came.
Ancient.
Soft.
Inside her soul.
Your soul is awakening.
Nora trembled.
Then—
Your body is awakening.
Power surged through her limbs.
Her senses sharpened instantly.
She could feel every movement of air.
Every heartbeat.
Every flicker of lightning.
Then the final whisper came—
and struck like a blade.
Your spirit has not awakened.
Nora's eyes flew open.
Half-awakened.
Her soul had awakened.
Her body had awakened.
But her spirit remained incomplete.
She clenched her fists.
Tears burned in her eyes.
If her spirit had awakened too—
this would have been the greatest day of her life.
Still…
something had changed.
She could feel her soul clearly now.
Touch it.
Sense it.
Control it.
Her breathing felt lighter.
The air entering her lungs felt cleaner and purer than before.
She stood in her god-body form—
whole.
Uninjured.
Wrapped in power.
Yet incomplete.
Below—
Death Dealer stepped toward the gate once more.
Nora looked down at him.
Her fear remained.
But now it stood beside resolve.
Even half-awakened…
Even incomplete…
Even if it killed her—
she would stop him.