Chapter 389: The Destruction of Holy Fadlan
"Your Majesty, w-why is that? The rising and setting of the sun is an eternal law of the world; how could it change so easily?"
"It's truly unbelievable."
Langpu also gazed toward the sky, his expression solemn.
As an ogre Archmage, he could better sense the disturbances in the Weave and the changes in the laws.
Just moments ago, he felt the surrounding elements become extremely unstable, rising and falling like tides. Immediately afterward, all magic related to light and heat experienced a certain degree of attenuation.
"No, the laws you perceive are not eternal, and even gods will one day decline."
"Rest assured."
"This situation won't last long."
"Once that being fully slumbers, everything will return to normal. The sun will rise as usual, though it may shine a bit dimmer."
Cassius said this.
In Erezaghe, the sun was not a star but an embodiment of authority, a projection of laws—like Mark City, which lacked a celestial sun but still experienced daily changes in light.
On some Prime Material Planes, the "sun" even housed elemental beings.
Ammanata was the deity who governed the sun's authority. When his divine power and mind faltered, the "sun" on the Prime Material Plane would also undergo corresponding changes.
However, the world's laws were ultimately stable. Even gods were bound by their domains and could hardly alter them.
According to his memories, this "Catastrophe of Sunlight" would end after seven days.
"Ammanata."
"Such an awe-inspiring power."
Cassius gazed at the celestial body about to fully descend, leaving only a red edge, and couldn't help but sigh.
"The Holy Fadlan Empire."
"I must obtain all their legacies and uncover the secrets left by the old emperor—that treasure is enough to ascend to godhood."
Cassius thought this.
Memories of his past life resurfaced once again.
In his previous life, the truth behind the death of the "Solar Emperor" Aragon I was deliberately concealed by the three great kingdoms, buried in the annals of history.
The three great kingdoms, usually at odds, had inexplicably joined forces in this matter. Almost all the informed individuals were slaughtered, and related historical records were burned to ashes.
Yet, years later, players unearthed the hidden truth and pieced together several versions of the story.
One hundred fifty years ago, Aragon I performed the widely known sacrificial ritual using some mysterious artifact.
On that day, the sun shone with extraordinary brilliance.
This drew the attention of Ammanata, who blessed Aragon I with the favor of the Sun God. Hundreds of his subjects were transformed into godspawn, forming the so-called "Legion of Radiance."
Aragon I himself received a direct blessing from Ammanata.
He became the immortal "Son of the Sun," ascending to a near-demigod existence.
Leading the Legion of Radiance, Aragon I waged war north and south, conquering the northern barbarian Gunther Kingdom, the southern Lotito Kingdom, and the western Manasseh Kingdom, driving the High Elves back into the forests.
But twenty years passed.
He established an empire spanning the Fianso continent—Holy Fadlan.
Aragon I achieved feats his ancestors had never dreamed of.
Yet his ambition did not stop there.
This emperor even led his armies to battle devils, demons, and celestial beings in planes like the Gray Wasteland, the Abyssal Plains, and the Infernal Hell. He established several fortresses in the Astral Plane as transit points.
A century of rapid expansion.
The world bowed at the empire's feet.
The glory of the Holy Fadlan Empire extended across the multiverse. Its people were prouder, more confident, and more arrogant than ever before.
Yet, over this century, Aragon I's ambition swelled unchecked. He was no longer content with being an emperor. A bolder, even blasphemous idea emerged:
He wanted to replace Ammanata and become a true god.
Thus, he constructed the Eternal Sun God Pyramid and conducted another grand sacrificial ritual, praying for Ammanata's descent.
This time, however, Aragon I found the blasphemous Twelve-Ring Spell—Ascension Spell—in ancient ruins and used some mysterious means to block the world's perception of the spell.
When Ammanata descended, Aragon I unleashed the spell, turning the Eternal Pyramid, originally for worship, into a cage for imprisoning the god.
The Sun God's avatar roared in fury.
The entire pyramid trembled.
The world's authority shifted.
In an instant, Aragon I attained the Sun God's divine domain, but he lacked the divine power to control its authority.
Infinite light and heat surged.
Like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
In the next moment, the erupting sun reduced Aragon I to ashes.
The stubbornly arrogant and ambitious emperor indeed fulfilled his wish, becoming a true Sun God.
But it lasted only for an instant.
After this farce, Ammanata reclaimed his divine position. However, this ordeal severely weakened him. His solar divine power became unstable, causing disruptions in the sun's cycle.
Now, he had only one choice—to fall into a deep slumber for centuries of recovery.
Before fully succumbing to sleep, Ammanata, furious at mortals' blasphemy, withdrew his favor from Holy Fadlan.
The sacred sunlight no longer bathed Fadlan, and the so-called "godspawn" within the empire began to lose their power.
Having desecrated a god, the empire lost its divine protection, falling to mortal ambition and ignorance.
The sun dimmed.
Fianso was engulfed in war.
The grand Holy Fadlan Empire suddenly collapsed.
Tiamat, Abyssal demons, and infernal devils seized the opportunity to invade the Prime Material Plane. Behind the empire's glory and brilliance, a chaotic, tumultuous new era began.
The sun had set, leaving only a faint afterglow on the horizon as the night grew dark and oppressive.
Cassius seemed to hear the wails, laments, and the earth-shaking sounds of the battlefield from the south.
In the early years of the war, Fadlan's afterglow had not yet faded, and the three kingdoms inheriting the empire's legacy remained at their peak strength.
Hundreds of legendary godspawn, thousands of Radiant Warriors, and nearly a million mortal soldiers fought fiercely in central Fianso, darkening the skies and cracking the earth, reducing it to a bloody wasteland.
The remains of Holy Fadlan were trampled and destroyed by its heirs.
Cassius squinted slightly, the golden slits of his pupils gleaming faintly. He slowly extended his claw, unleashing a scorching blaze from his palm.
"What a cruel era."
"But it suits me perfectly."
"The glory of Holy Fadlan has faded. A new dawn is about to rise. The old king is dead, and the new king shall reign."