Sovereign of the Ashes

With the God of Brute Force now completely dead, the Spider Queen could finally unravel her divine cocoon.

The god’s lifeless corpse had taken on a grayish hue. Patches of coarse hair—a remnant of its Gray-headed Ape ancestry—began emerging on its skin.

Its fingernails blackened, growing sharp like claws as it regressed into its primitive state.

“Alright. Now, I can begin stripping its divine ability and divinity. I hope this one won’t disappoint me,” Spider Queen said.

At that moment, the divine spider silk that had tightly bound the corpse slowly retracted into Spider Queen’s fingertips.

Sein watched those silken strands with a tinge of envy.

Beyond containing Spider Queen’s divine aura, they were, in his eyes, the perfect material for crafting magic robes.

”Let’s store the body in the Silver Spider Ring for now. I’ll handle the rest once we find a secluded place,” the Spider Queen continued.

“You’re leaving?” Sein asked while stashing the divine corpse into his Silver Spider Ring.

“The cost of maintaining a divine clone in another world for an extended period is beyond your imagination. Now that this fella is completely dead, there’s no reason for me to stay,” Spider Queen replied.

She paused, then added, “In the meantime, you can study the corpse. Consider it a reward.”

The chance to study a complete divine corpse sent a thrill of excitement through Sein.

Yet, he did not forget his most pressing concern.

“When will you be able to send me back to the Magus World?”

“The materials needed to construct the magic array won’t be ready for some time. Do you think the divine power I expended to slay a foreign god can be restored in just a few months? Be patient and wait. I’ll notify you when I’m ready.”

As soon as she finished speaking, her form began to dissolve, her silver energy vaporizing into fine motes of light that vanished into Sein’s Silver Spider Ring.

The fact that the Spider Queen could even manifest a clone in this world was only possible due to the energy support provided by the amplification array in the Magus World, and the Silver Spider Ring, which served as a crucial transit node between the two worlds.

The God of Brute Force had been unfortunate—or perhaps doomed by its own limitations.

Its path of passive evolution and reliance on divinity had made its perception of elemental energy painfully slow.

Had it been able to sense the divine power currents hidden beneath the divine domain during the battle at Feymous Canyon...

Had it focused everything on killing Sein first, severing the Silver Spider Ring’s function as a divine power relay...

Then perhaps—just perhaps—the Spider Queen would not have been able to sustain her Rank Four clone.

***

High above the Faeloria Continent of the Prime Materia Plane, inside the God of Justice’s divine nation...

As one of the most powerful deities in all of Faeloria, the God of Justice was revered as a supreme deity.

His divine nation was so immense that it could rival a medium-sized plane. It was, without question, the largest divine nation in Faeloria—surpassing all others in size, influence, and sheer number of believers.

Fueled by the faith of hundreds of millions, the God of Justice expanded his divine nation to its current vastness, its population surpassing one billion.

By comparison, the unfortunate God of Brute Force—slain by the Spider Queen and Sein—was so insignificant in power that he was not even worth the God of Justice’s pinky finger.

Even if Spider Queen were to descend upon Faeloria in her true form, she would stand no chance against this Supreme Deity.

Though the Spider Queen was an exceptionally formidable Rank Six entity, the God of Justice had already reached the peak of Rank Six.

In the Astral Realm, peak Rank Three and peak Rank Six held special significance.

Peak Rank Three beings were known as “demigods”—entities who had begun to grasp the power of laws, capable of crushing others of their own rank.

Similarly, peak Rank Six beings were extremely close to becoming overlords, so their strength and resources far surpassed those of ordinary Rank Six entities.

At his current rank, the God of Justice was undeniably one of the most powerful deities in all of Faeloria.

At present, the only beings in the Magus World capable of challenging such an existence were the elite knights and mages of the major powers.

These individuals were the future overlords and overmages of the Magus World.

However, with the conflict against the Gallant Federation looming ever closer, these elite powerhouses had all entered seclusion, just like that mysterious figure from the Western Archipelago.

Each of them was pushing themselves to the brink, hoping to break through and tip the scales in favor of the Magus Civilization.

Yet, becoming an overlord or overmage was an immense challenge.

Over the past thousand years, only one Rank Six knight, Klopp of the Western Archipelago, had come close to crossing this threshold, gaining the support of two guardians.

Aside from peak Rank Six mages and knights like Klopp, the Magus Alliance also had many other talented and formidable figures, each with the potential to reach the same level of power.

One such individual was Celloza of Planet Norvex.

As one of the elders of the Magus Alliance, the Planet Norvex had maintained its status as a medium-sized plane for many years.

Currently, its strongest powerhouse, Celloza, had already reached the peak of Rank Six.

Recognized by the Magus Alliance as having a high probability of becoming an overlord, he was expected to spearhead Planet Norvex’s ascent to a large-sized plane.

It was said that Celloza was the child of the late grand elder of Planet Norvex, inheriting not only his position within the Magus Alliance but also his extensive network of connections across the Magus World.

With the Magus World’s backing—both overt and covert—Norvex indeed had the resources needed to pursue a planar ascension.

The God of Justice had never left Faeloria, leaving him ignorant of the Astral Realm’s vast splendor. As a result, he had no way to accurately gauge his place in the Astral Realm.

In time, this gave way to arrogance, and he began to see himself as invincible.

Among all of Faeloria’s gods, the God of Justice recognized only three as his peers—the Dark Lady, the Elemental God, and Poseidon.

The Dark Lady was the only deity in Faeloria to have ever defeated the God of Justice.

Although her victory had been a minor one at the time, it remained a scar on his pride.

Since then, the God of Justice’s influence had only expanded—his followers multiplied and his temples flourished.

Yet, despite the passing years, he had never forgotten that loss.

Even so, he held a measure of respect for the Dark Lady.

The Elemental God was one of Faeloria’s oldest deities, predating even the God of Justice and the Dark Lady.

According to rumors, it had even directly communicated with Dio, the God of Gods.

This deity, whose very essence was woven from elemental laws and who had sired several intermediate deities, stood as the cornerstone of stability in Faeloria.

One hundred thousand years ago, during the largest Avatar Crisis in history, it was the Elemental God who ultimately put an end to the catastrophe.

If Faeloria had a true guardian, there was no doubt that it would be the Elemental God.