Sovereign of the Ashes

“Oh?” Sein let out a soft sound of surprise as he looked in the direction the God of Evil Tides had fled.

By now, the battle had all but ended.

With both Rank Four deities having lost the will to fight, the remaining airships posed no real threat.

The entire clash had ended far too quickly for the native gods of the Vermi Star Domain to react.

On top of that, Sein had already set up concealment and camouflage arrays in the surrounding space.

Still, he had no intention of letting his prey escape.

If that Rank Four managed to flee back to the Vermi Star Domain and return later with reinforcements, it would be nothing but trouble.

After instructing Tourmaline and Fermera to watch over the surrendered God of Dusk Desire and the valuable merchant fleet, Sein set off alone in pursuit.

The God of Evil Tides was already badly injured as he fled toward the space-time fluctuation zone.

He had been pierced by Fermera’s lightsaber and energy blasts, then scorched by Sein’s Ashen Flames.

Even as he ran, gray flames continued to burn across his body.

Against a wounded Rank Four from another world—one with less than thirty percent of its strength remaining—Sein alone was more than enough.

Besides, he was no stranger to space-time fluctuation zones.

At the outer edges, the distortions were relatively mild.

But the deeper he went, the more violent they became. Surging tides of warped space and even small-scale space-time storms began to appear.

The God of Evil Tides was not moving very fast.

Although he followed a faith-based system, his physical resilience was far inferior to someone like Sein, who regularly tempered his body through experiments.

When Sein finally caught up, the God of Evil Tides was gasping for breath near a shattered portal.

His face was twisted with hesitation, struggle, and pain.

The God of Evil Tides was a humanoid creature with a large head. His cheeks were covered in a black, algae-like substance that served a role similar to hair among the races of Magus World.

He had six fingers, webbed feet, and protruding joints.

As for the finer anatomical differences, those would have to wait until Sein had him on an operating table.

The shattered portal before him was even smaller than the one Sein had used before with Tourmaline.

The force of the surrounding space-time storm was also noticeably weaker.

Even so, faint cracks caused by the erosion of its power had already begun to spread across the God of Evil Tides’ body.

The portal might be small—but it was no less dangerous!

As Sein closed in, the young Rank Four deity kept retreating. Fear and unease were written all over his face.

The scene felt oddly familiar—like the time Sein had been cornered by the Amenkha Empire’s Rank Six vizier.

Only this time, the roles were reversed.

Now, he was the one closing in, and the one being cornered was just an unlucky Rank Four from another world.

“I mean you no harm. We can talk,” Sein said calmly, his gaze flicking to the cracks spreading across the deity’s skin, where blue blood had begun to seep out.

No harm—and yet he had already beaten the God of Evil Tides into this state.

Although what Sein said sounded like nonsense, his expression remained completely serious.

“What’s there to talk about?” the God of Evil Tides growled. “I never expected a Rank Five to show up in the Vermi Star Domain disguised as a space pirate. The God of Portent and the others will avenge me!”

Sein did not hold any grudge against this foreign god, unlike beings from the Gallant Federation or the Amenkha Empire.

Yes, he wanted to capture the God of Evil Tides and study him.

But that was just a mage’s curiosity toward a Rank Four extraplanar being.

Any mage from Magus World would feel the same.

The only reason Sein had chased him this far was to prevent him from running back to the Vermi Star Domain and bringing trouble later.

Sein said nothing and simply stared at the fearful god.

In truth, the God of Evil Tides did not have many options left.

He could only either trust Sein, or jump into the shattered portal behind him and gamble with his life.

Sein was usually patient, but he did not have the time today.

With a snap of his fingers, a ball of Ashen Flame roared to life at his fingertips.

At the sight of the gray flame that had brought him immense pain, the God of Evil Tides’ deep blue pupils shrank.

After a brief hesitation, he raised his right hand. “Hold it right there! I’m willing to talk.”

The threat of death finally broke his resolve.

Perhaps, deep down, he wanted to believe Sein truly meant no harm.

“Oh?” Sein raised a brow, then continued calmly, “Then drop your divine form and come over slowly.”

“I suggest you put away your weapon and dismiss your divine domain as well. Do not give me any reason to misunderstand your intentions,” he added.

The God of Evil Tides actually complied.

He deactivated his divine form and domain, then put away his divine artifact—a spear forged from a conch, covered in green, hair-like growths.

Between risking the portal and trusting Sein, he had chosen the latter.

Seeing this, Sein let out a quiet breath of relief.

Capturing a Rank Four foreign being was far better than walking away empty-handed.

Of course, he had no intention of killing the God of Evil Tides.

A Rank Four hydro-attribute creature like this was a rare specimen.

Over the years, Sein’s collection had gradually filled with living high-level beings.

He was quite sure the God of Evil Tides would fit in nicely... given enough time.

However—

Before the deity could even close a third of the distance, a powerful suction suddenly burst from the shattered portal behind him.

The disturbance was not limited to that single portal.

All the surrounding space-time fluctuation zones had begun to surge violently, as if something had triggered them all at once.

Sein had long known that these zones around the Vermi Star Domain would occasionally enter an active phase. This was an event that occurred roughly once every five hundred years.

It seemed they had run straight into it!

Sein himself was still some distance from the space-time nodes, and his strength was greater, so the effects on him were minimal for now.

But the God of Evil Tides, who had just deactivated his divine form and domain, was in no such position.

With a sharp scream, he was caught off guard and dragged straight into the shattered portal.

Sein considered reaching out to pull him back. But as the surrounding space-time forces grew more violent, he gave up on the idea.

A violent burst followed.

Deep blue blood and pieces of flesh erupted from the portal where the God of Evil Tides had been sucked into.

The God of Evil Tides had not simply vanished. The moment he entered, he had been torn apart by razor-sharp space-time rifts.

The surrounding air was now filled with a faint, metallic scent of seawater.

Some of the blood and flesh pieces splattered onto Sein.

With a soft sigh, he gathered what samples he could, then shook his head and prepared to leave.

Staying near an active space-time fluctuation zone was not a good idea.

But just as he turned to go, a blinding golden light suddenly flared from deep within the fluctuation zone.

The strange, subtle pulse of power made him pause and look back once more.