Sovereign of the Ashes

The Philan Demiplane... Sein had never even heard of it before.

On his way to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, he quickly learned through his crystal ball that this demiplane was located within a star domain bordering the Grand Eye Demon World.

No wonder!

The Magus Alliance spanned far too many planes—hundreds of thousands of complete worlds governed by established laws, not to mention countless demiplanes and broken planes.

Sein was no astronomer, so naturally, he had never paid attention to planes that held little relevance to him.

The Order of the Steel Fist had suffered devastating losses, with many knights from House Ernst dead. Even Sein’s wife, Natalya, was gravely wounded and on the brink of death.

All this was undoubtedly tied to Eye Demon World’s rebellion.

Having just returned from the frontlines himself, Sein knew this was only the beginning of the Clash of Civilizations.

For now, the Magus Civilization had committed only its most elite forces—troops from top-tier factions, soul towers, and grand orders.

Out of the tens of thousands of knightly orders in Magus World, the Order of the Steel Fist could hardly be considered elite.

Their overall strength placed them no higher than the lower-middle tier. After all, their founder was only a Rank Four knight with no ties to any top-tier faction, leaving the order’s resources limited.

By rights, such knightly orders would not be sent to the Clash of Civilization’s frontlines at this time.

At most, they were stationed in rear star domains or on the outskirts of conflict, assigned to routine garrison or transport duties.

The Grand Eye Demon World was nowhere near the main frontline where the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation clashed.

That was why its sudden betrayal had caught many Magus World powerhouses off guard.

Sein had long heard that millions of Magus World knights and mages had been annihilated in Eye Demon World’s rebellion, with even several Rank Six Magus World powerhouses among the dead.

Yet he had never imagined that his own relatives would be among those fallen knights.

The only consolation was that Natalya, though gravely wounded, was still alive.

It also seemed Steel Fist, the Rank Four knight himself, had survived.

That alone proved that the Philan Demiplane, where the Order of the Steel Fist had been stationed, was not some vital world deep within the Eye Demon World’s star domain.

Though the order had taken heavy losses, at least they had not been completely wiped out.

***

Sein flew at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he had already reached the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

With the two towers so close, flying was more convenient for a Rank Four mage than using a teleportation array.

Tourmaline was there too!

Through their special bond, Sein could sense the dragon turtle dozing in the Jewel Sea outside the tower.

It seemed that during the years he had been away from the Magus World, Tourmaline had come to visit Lorianne.

As Sein approached, Tourmaline stirred from its sleep, but he had no time to greet it. He flew straight toward the top floor of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

As expected, Lorianne was there.

Seeing her apprentice rush in so flustered, she immediately understood why he had come.

Guided by her, they soon entered a completely sealed laboratory. At its center, Natalya lay within a crystal coffin.

The crystalline barrier prevented Sein from feeling her breath, but the Faceless Mask’s analysis revealed that her vital signs were almost gone.

Only her brain and heart showed faint cellular activity, as though some extraordinary power was preserving her soul and the last trace of her life essence.

“What’s her condition?” Sein asked, his voice now calm.

Anxiety would do no good here. On his way, he had already forced himself to steady his emotions.

Lorianne was an expert in apothecary. She was far more knowledgeable than he was in the art of healing.

“The situation is dire. By the time she reached me, it was already too late,” Lorianne said.

“I used a vial of Golden Apple Potion to preserve what remained of her life essence, but her soul is too weak. Her consciousness keeps fading, and no matter what I try, she can’t be awakened.”

She shook her head. “The only reason she is still holding on is because the Golden Apple Potion has not worn off yet.”

Golden Apple was said to have the miraculous power to pull someone back from the brink of death.

Sein himself had experienced its effects twice, so he knew just how absurdly potent this potion crafted by his mentor was.

But while Golden Apple could save the dying, it could not bring the dead back to life.

What Marie did not know was that Natalya had been transported back to Magus World as a corpse...

It was Lorianne who examined her apprentice’s wife and discovered a faint glimmer of hope to save her. That was why she decided to bring Natalya to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

When Natalya first arrived, her body was mangled beyond recognition. The attack she had suffered in the Grand Eye Demon World was powerful enough to melt steel into fine threads, let alone a body made of flesh and blood.

Now, she lay in a crystal coffin dressed in pristine white. The Golden Apple Potion had reconstructed her body.

In Sein’s memories, Natalya had always been a tomboy. It was rare to see her in dresses. She was almost always clad in armor or tight-fitting outfits for training.

The only time he had seen her in such an ethereal white dress was on their wedding day.

The thought made his heart ache all the more.

Sometimes, one only learned to cherish things once they were gone.

He had once found Natalya’s constant interruptions during his experiments annoying. But now, looking at her lying there, barely clinging to life, he felt nothing but a crushing reluctance to let her go.

“Can she be awakened?” Sein asked without thinking.

He was knowledgeable in apothecary and Magus World human anatomy. From Lorianne’s explanation, he already understood that Natalya’s body had been nearly restored thanks to the Golden Apple Potion.

The real problem was her soul...

In the Magus World, the study of souls was among the most advanced fields of spellcraft, especially when they touched upon the supreme mysteries of life and death.

Most Magus World spellcasters believed that true death meant not only the destruction of the body, but the complete dissolution of the soul.

Only when the soul was utterly annihilated could one be declared truly dead.

The Golden Apple Potion stood above all other elixirs precisely because it could mend damaged souls—even those of Rank Six and Rank Seven overlords.

But according to Lorianne, Natalya’s soul had already begun to dissolve.

Even if she were somehow awakened, she would likely suffer lasting damage—perhaps even the permanent loss of part of her memories.