The world is shaking.
Across the Northern Continent, the six energies spreading throughout Teshiniria began to circulate freely.
And that energy was one I was well familiar with.
‘The Master of the Pieces.’
Heir to the Dragon Kings and the owner of the Star Fragments, who are referred to as ancestors or disasters by the residents here.
Among them, the most noticeable one was, of course, the ‘Lightning’ that was closest.
[?]
[?????]
[What is this?]
[Wow, crazy lightning]
[Whoa]
[It’s colossal]
A brilliant pillar of lightning shot up into the sky.
The lightning thrashed about as if it would overturn the entire Northern Continent, and Leo widened his eyes, immediately entering Spirit Ascension.
Kwaaaah!!
The attributes were Earth, Light, and Lightning.
After completing the spirit ascension of these three attributes, Leo summoned Zeus and charged towards the pillar of light before I could even step in.
It was as if this was his own business.
I thought about lending a hand, but considering Leo’s growth rate from earlier, it shouldn’t be impossible for him to handle it.
Yena, who was startled, turned to me with a bewildered expression.
“What, what is it, nya?”
“It seems all the sleeping masters have awakened. And they’re really angry.”
“??? Didn’t we finish once we obtained the fragments? Could it be that the Grim Reaper actually woke them up? But how…”
“Well, to wake from slumber, cooperation from a ‘Sage’ is essential…”
The star fragments we obtained were part of the Dragon Heart.
We got a piece, but the real substance belonged to their heirs, the ‘Masters.’
Even when I cleared the Earth’s episode, I obtained the Star Fragment of Earth, but it was separate from the Masters.
In other words, the disasters that had pushed the past world to the brink of destruction still remained.
The disasters were in a deep slumber, sacrificed by ‘Life’, but that seal has just been broken.
“I wonder what they did to release them all…”
“Shouldn’t we stop them? I heard the masters are all dangerous…”
“That’s likely. First off, I’ve already awakened the Earth and separated its power, and Darkness won’t really be able to do much, so it should be fine.”
What remained were the four except for the Lightning that Leo was dealing with.
Just Wind, Light, Space, and Life.
“First, Miss Yena, please head toward Wind. I’ll check out Life and figure out what’s going on.”
“What about the remaining two?”
“Space is untraceable and Light is a bit dangerous. It might be tough for you to handle, Miss Yena.”
“Is it that dangerous?”
“Yeah.”
Light is an attribute possessed by Dragon Lord Sharurodo.
He was a friend rather than a subordinate to the other Dragon Kings, but his strength was recognized as a ‘Lord.’
If he hadn’t been betrayed and lost one wing, he could have easily fought against Intermediate Angels and the Demon Race too.
No matter how talented the successor was, there was no guarantee that Yena could win.
Yena nodded with a sour expression.
“I get it, meow. So I just need to go towards the wind and knock him down, right, meow?”
“Just subdue him. It’s okay to inflict some wounds as long as you don’t kill him.”
“Okay, meow.”
Got it!
Yena flew at high speed towards the Southern Continent.
I sent a message to Leo, who was dealing with the lightning, then drew my spear.
“Let’s go too.”
[Okay]
[Was it done by the Grim Reaper?]
[Let’s go, go, go, go, go]
[Isn’t this a big deal?]
[We’re screwed]
[Does that mean Light won’t be dealt with?]
[If we catch them all, what will we get?]
[I heard Light is in the Northern Continent, so let’s clear that first.]
“Confirming life is our priority. We can deal with Light later…”
Even though Light was the most dangerous disaster, its fundamental cause started with life.
Like how I awakened the earth, one could claim it was forcibly awakened without going through life.
However, since it awakened simultaneously, there was a high possibility that something was done to life.
Instead of flying like before, I swung my spear in the air for quick movement.
This was a technique derived from the Void Dragon, known as ‘Space Division,’ which allows the movement of space itself.
The space I was in instantly moved to the Spring of Life.
The Spring of Life was a massive spring that formed after ‘life’ died.
Surrounding the spring were lush green leaves and trees, and the calm water surface shone with a blue hue.
Additionally, a ‘Sage’ who always served life used to live at the spring, but…
“It’s gone.”
The sage was not there.
No, the ‘spring’ itself was missing.
[????]
[What happened? Where did it go?]
[Is this the spring?]
[This is just empty land.]
[Huh?]
[Where did the sage go? LOL]
[Is this even the right place?]
Literally an empty plot of land.
The spring, which used to radiate a blue light, seemed to have hidden its form as if it never existed, with only a few blades of grass sprouting instead of trees.
There was a bit of life energy left, but it was hardly noticeable as a trace.
I looked around for a moment and then spread my holy power widely.
Whoa…!
My holy power spread across the Central Continent.
There were hundreds, thousands of signals detected, but the two most noticeable signals stood out.
Using the fragments of life, I moved once more through the space’s divide.
In that place…
“…You are.”
“Sage?”
There lay a dying sage.
Here, the words ‘dying’ and ‘sage’ didn’t quite match.
The sage was a priest of life, one who wielded powers related to life.
Naturally, his vitality and regenerative abilities were far superior to those of other priests.
In fact, even ‘life’ would have been resurrected, so his powers should have only increased, not decreased.
‘Unless someone is recovering his powers…’
“Recovering?”
[?]
[Huh?]
[He’s bleeding a lot.]
“Cough! That woman… what is she doing here…”
“Sage. Where is your master?”
“…Hehehe. Master, you say…”
Cough! Cough! Cough!
The sage spat out blood-tinged coughs.
It was clear that the sage no longer had the powers of life within him.
Only the strength of an average elder remained, as he lay dying.
“He’s dead. My master has already died.”
“Then what’s that feeling coming from over there?”
“Just a shell… lost its ego and only holds the power of life. Yes, much like a reverse.”
“Reverse… you say?”
Swoosh…
In the distance, an entity emitting a fierce aura of life.
The aura of life is a beneficial force and a remedy to living beings.
But remedies can always turn into poison.
The life-force being emitted was turning into a vicious toxin, claiming the lives of all beings on the surface.
It might seem extreme compared to its behavior, but losing one’s ego, huh.
“What happened? Was it indeed an attack?”
“…Should we call it an attack?”
“If not an attack, then what?”
“…A while back, strange guys came looking. They were madmen saying they’d revive my master if I assisted them.”
Life sacrificed to put everyone to sleep.
The sage had been planning to resurrect his master, and until that day came, no one could touch life.
Even if he did, he had no intention of entrusting it to unknown fellows.
The sage expelled an unidentified outsider and a man in a black robe, and despite their initially harsh demeanor, they retreated quite willingly.
“It seemed like something was brewing from the darkness, but I didn’t pay much mind. Like me, everyone must have their own schemes… Cough!”
“……”
“…You remember the primordial magic array, right?”
[Primordial magic?]
[Isn’t that it?]
[Primordial magic array?]
[What’s that?]
[What’s that?]
[?]
[Ah, that thing]
The original magic array.
‘When the resurrection of the Master begins, those who are currently in a state of sleep will gradually awaken. And the original magic array I engraved thousands of years ago will also activate.’
‘The original magic array?’
‘When the magic array activates, a powerful force capable of separating the ‘rank’ of the soul will manifest. It’s a technique inspired by the transformation of that person’s body and soul; in simple terms, it separates power and humans.’
This is the magic array that forms the foundation of the sage’s plan, ‘Separation of Power.’
To separate power from masters who possess disaster-like strength.
Just as the earth experienced, when they awaken, they will undoubtedly wreak havoc and slaughter, so the sage planned to separate their power instead of waking them up.
If it had gone according to the sage’s plan, not only would life have been spared, but other successors wouldn’t have run amok either.
“The guys cleverly altered the magic array and forced it to activate. In the process, the Master’s ego shattered countless times, causing them to lose themselves.”
“Themselves… do the other masters share the same fate?”
“…Not to the same extent as the Master. But they are at least not in their right mind. They altered the magic array recklessly using their powers.”
“I see. First, we must restrain them.”
It seems the sage doesn’t know where the Grim Reaper is.
In that brief moment, since it’s unlikely they touched the pieces from the knight or life, they must be orchestrating things remotely.
I used holy magic to heal the sage’s wounds and then turned my head.
I brandished the Kraken’s Spear, and just as I was about to cross over space, the sage grabbed me.
“…Do you know their purpose?”
“I don’t know in detail. I’ll have to find out and ask.”
Since I’ve troubled them, I’ll just give them a whack on the head.
“If you promise not to kill my Master, I will tell you. The ‘real’ truth of this world.”
“The truth about the piece’s masters being successors of someone who flew here from afar and the real corpse being buried in this land? I already know that. We need to hurry, so later…”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
You.
“Do you know what lives deeper than the ‘endless darkness’?”
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