Sovereign of the Ashes

In the end, Sein only picked up a few trinkets at the auction.

One thing that stood out, however, was a star chart covering the Vermi Star Domain and several nearby minor star regions.

The chart itself was limited in scope and did not include any medium-sized planes.

Even so, Sein had a feeling that this Interstellar Chamber of Commerce—despite its unclear origins—must be connected to higher-level planes.

After all, materials like the Spring Water of Hatred and Spring Water of Joy were considered rare even within the Magus Civilization.

It was hard to believe such high-quality materials could come from low-level planes.

Sein left before the auction came to an end.

Using the Faceless Mask, he quietly marked the two Rank Four beings who had been bidding most aggressively.

If his condition improved further and if Fermera could be repaired to a usable state... Sein would not mind staging a little heist!

***

By the time he left the auction house, all the metal he had ordered had already arrived.

After settling the remaining payment, Sein did not stay in Weggis Star City. Instead, he took the materials and his space pirate ship to a barren asteroid outside the city.

He hollowed out the asteroid by force, then moved inside and began his work.

Under the smelting and refinement of Sein’s Ashen Flame, the massive pile of metal steadily shrank, condensing into pure metallic essence.

The entire process lasted more than half a year.

In the end, less than one percent of the original volume remained.

If the raw metals were only mid-grade materials, then the refined essence produced by Sein’s Ashes Laws Flame could easily be considered high-grade. It was definitely perfect for repairing Fermera’s damaged body.

On top of that, its value had increased at least tenfold, if not more!

On the surface, it looked like a highly profitable process. But in reality, who would waste this much time refining materials like this?

On second thought, perhaps native deities of pyro elemental planes might actually do it.

Back in the Magus Civilization, Sein could have simply paid a steep price to purchase high-grade materials suited for repairing a Rank Six metal construct like Fermera.

There would have been no need to go through all this trouble himself.

Sein’s time was precious—he would much rather spend it uncovering deeper truths in his laboratory.

Once the metal smelting was complete, he summoned Fermera and began repairing her body.

He started with the heavily damaged metal wings on her back, then moved on to the large portions of her body that had been destroyed. Even the intricate mechanical components inside her needed careful restoration...

It was a massive project. Even with the Magic Cube assisting him, it would still take a long time to complete.

Throughout it all, Tourmaline stayed by his side, quietly waiting outside the laboratory.

At first, she entertained herself.

When she grew tired, she shifted into her dragon-turtle form and curled up to sleep.

The asteroid Sein had chosen was remote and barren, with almost no traffic passing through, so there was little risk of being discovered.

***

After more than two years in this makeshift laboratory, Sein was finally nearing the end of Fermera’s repairs.

She was not fully fixed, but her condition was far better than it had been before.

With a layer of memory alloy reapplied, her damaged skin was the first to be restored.

At least, Fermera had already regained her former radiant appearance.

The internal damage, however, would take longer to fix.

Even with the Magic Cube continuously nourishing her systems, it would still be some time before she returned to peak condition.

The good news was that she could already display combat power on par with a Rank Five.

Sein himself had also recovered well during this period, with both his strength and stamina improving further.

Still, he could not beat Tourmaline’s speed of recovery.

When Sein stepped out of the laboratory, he found her napping outside the cave. The scars on her dragon scales were noticeably fewer than before.

It seemed that sleep was the most effective way for her to recover—far more so than any elixir or high-grade potion.

“Oh, Sein. You’re done with your experiments already?” Tourmaline mumbled, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she sensed him approaching.

Moments later, she shifted back into her human form and stepped forward, taking his hand.

Her two green ribbons were still wrapped around her fair arms. She looked up at him and asked, “Where are we going next?”

Life was simple for her. When she got tired of playing, she slept. When she woke up, she played again. She did not need to worry about anything or plan ahead—she only needed to follow Sein and do as he said.

Sein put the Faceless Mask back on and scanned the area. The two foreign gods he had marked were still in Weggis Star City.

He pulled out a star chart, glanced at it, and replied, “Let’s head somewhere quiet and wait. Some easy prey should be coming our way soon.”

***

The God of Dusk Desire was a well-known interstellar broker around Water Ripple World.

Although the interstellar merchant fleet he led was not large, its reach was surprisingly wide.

He maintained regular trade with smaller star domains like the Vermi Star Domain and had even traveled to several medium-sized planes.

This time, the few vials of law-infused spring water he brought to the Vermi Star Domain all sold for high prices.

Thinking about the profits and the praise he would receive from the ruler of Water Ripple World lifted his mood considerably.

And that was not all.

He also planned to introduce the Vermi Star Domain’s native Rank Four deity—the God of Evil Tides—to the ruler of Water Ripple World.

The God of Evil Tides was the wealthy bidder who had bought his spring waters at the auction.

The God of Dusk Desire had a good idea of what he wanted.

He was simply using this opportunity to make contact with the spring lords.

Strictly speaking, both the God of Dusk Desire and the Water Ripple World behind him were vassals to those spring lords and the worlds under their rule.

However, the spring lords rarely involved themselves in governance, which allowed nearby star domains—including Water Ripple World—to develop with a great deal of freedom.

The God of Dusk Desire’s caravan consisted of five ships in total.

The three trailing behind belonged to the God of Evil Tides.

He was not heading back to Water Ripple World just yet. Instead, he planned to visit several other star domains for trade.

The God of Evil Tides followed along partly to broaden his horizons. After all, this mid-stage Rank Four deity had rarely left his home domain before.

“The Vermi Star Domain is doing fairly well overall, but it is a bit too isolated. These space-time fluctuation zones are such a nuisance. Even leaving the domain requires following specific routes. But the next space-time tide is coming soon. I wonder what interesting things will appear this time... Heh, I am really looking forward to it.”

Gazing out at the shifting, multicolored space-time currents beyond the ship’s window, the God of Dusk Desire let out a sigh.

Immersed in his own thoughts, he did not even notice the pitch-black shadows slowly closing in.