Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein left the templar and mage alone because he had sensed the faint fluctuation of divine power on them.

Based on his understanding of the faith system and prior research into divine power, individuals like these typically shared a special connection with the deities they worshipped.

It appeared to have something to do with the power of faith.

Besides, Sein was not certain whether acting recklessly might draw the attention of the god they served.

In truth, even he carried traces of divine power within his own body.

The source was the Silver Spider Ring on his finger.

The divine power stored within this artifact was far purer and more potent than anything possessed by these two.

Although Sein had no exact idea how strong the Spider Queen truly was, he estimated she was roughly around Rank Six.

Given this, she would undoubtedly be considered a powerhouse in another large-sized plane—second only to overlords.

Since Sein had no immediate way to deal with the two divine power wielders, he turned his attention to the remaining three.

By the looks of it, this entire group had come from the Church of Bones in Blackwater City.

The gray-robed old man bore a striking resemblance to the figures who had been responsible for transforming the teenager into a monster in his fragmented memories.

Unlike the templar and mage, who had received a meager blessing of divine power, the three remaining individuals had none.

Clearly, the Rank Four and above beings of this world could not bestow power freely upon their followers.

Sein lifted his palm. The Ashen Flame flickered and died out, replaced by the radiant glow of soul magic.

Under the cover of night, the eerie glow of mana cast shadows over Sein’s face, making his expression appear even more demonic.

“A demon...”[1]

The only conscious thief’s legs gave way, and he fell backward onto the ground.

With sheer terror, he scrambled backward, eyes widening as he watched Sein grab the heads of the fallen warrior and ranger.

“... Oh? So demons exist in this world, too?” Sein murmured, glancing toward the thief as he extracted and read the memories buried deep in the souls of the two natives.

The deeper he delved into this world’s secrets, the more mysteries he uncovered.

The thief, however, paled at Sein’s question. He bit his lip and continued his desperate retreat.

Unfortunately, Sein had no intention of letting him go.

He dropped the lifeless bodies of the two adventurers and then strode toward the skinny thief.

***

This world was indeed more complex and arguably more powerful than Sein had imagined.

It was a world named Faeloria.

At least, that was how the thief’s memories referred to this plane he lived in.

Although the skinny thief was the weakest of the five, he had traveled extensively during his early years and accumulated far more knowledge than the warrior and the ranger.

This was a powerful world, one blessed by gods and goddesses.

Its map was far larger than any foreign world Sein had ever visited. Even the Wild Gorilla World paled in comparison.

That world had boasted slightly more than seventy Gorilla Gods of Rank Four and above, as well as over a hundred vessel planes.

Yet, Faeloria had hundreds of distinct temples and churches, which meant this world was home to hundreds of Rank Four or higher deities.

Unlike other planar civilizations Sein had come across, Faeloria existed as a massive continent with no apparent control over any foreign vessel planes.

According to the thief’s memories, there was no documented knowledge of foreign planes either.

Instead, myths and epics spoke of gods residing in the divine nation.

The tales claimed that devout believers would be welcomed there after death—where they would live eternally.

Eternal life...

In Sein’s eyes, it was utter nonsense.

Even beings of Rank Four and above could not achieve true immortality.

How, then, could their followers expect to achieve it after death?

It was nothing more than propaganda.

In many allied planes of the Magus Alliance that operated on faith-based systems, high-ranking beings often duped their followers with promises of eternal life.

The strategy, Sein had to admit, was highly effective.

For short-lived creatures, the promise of eternity was an irresistible temptation.

What was faith, after all, if not a wager for more time?

Sein, however, was a pragmatic spellcaster.

Based on the knowledge he possessed, he concluded that this so-called “eternal life” was likely nothing more than a trick.

Rank Four and above gods likely employed special laws to slow the dissipation of their followers’ souls.

Devotees with unshakable faith often developed remarkably resilient souls.

In some cases, these souls did not even require external intervention to linger a bit longer in the world before dissipating.

For Rank Four or higher beings who had embraced the faith system, fortifying these souls using their divine power and the power of laws was relatively simple.

While studying in Sky City, Sein learned that the civilizations that perfected this soul-manipulation technique were primarily the Angels and the Radiant Celestials.

The records stated that their mastery over soul energy surpassed that of most Rank Four and above beings, including the foreign deities in the Magus Alliance.

This was precisely why Sein wished he could obtain a specimen of an Angel.

Apart from foreign deities who had embraced faith systems, the Magus World itself had also developed numerous techniques for soul preservation.

The phylactery of liches was perhaps the most classic example, though Necromancers had discovered many other methods of achieving similar results.

The hundreds of temples and churches scattered across Faeloria were merely a surface-level display of this world’s potential.

In the thief’s memories, Sein also glimpsed references to demons and dragons.

Demons truly existed in this world.

The descriptions matched the demons he knew from historical records and documents in the Magus World—uncannily so.

One particular mural in Blackwater City’s Church of Bones depicted a demon strikingly similar to the Baator Demons recorded in Sky City’s archives—a bloodline his wife, Natalya, had absorbed.

However, there were two differences.

The fleshy wings of the depicted demon appeared atrophied, and its overall size was noticeably smaller than a Baator Demon.

According to Magus World’s historical records, demons originally inhabited the Hell Plane.

They were displaced after the collapse of their world, and some later joined the Magus Civilization.

Here, on the Faeloria Continent, demons seemed to reside in a place known as the “Infernal Blood Keep” or simply “Blood Keep”.

Of course, the thief had never personally visited this place. He had never encountered a demon, either.

Nevertheless, the details in his memories were intriguing.

From what Sein could gather, the Blood Keep seemed more like a foreign plane.

And yet, it lay in the far west of the Faeloria Continent.

It was said that by crossing the boundless sea and traversing the desolate wilds, one could reach the Blood Keep’s borders.

“A Convergent World?” Sein blinked at the term, scratching his head.

1. My dearest champion readers, please take note that there is a term change for ”Demon” and ”Devil”. If this is your first time seeing this mini announcement, please visit the footnote of Chapter 910 for more information. ☜ ☜